THE    POEMS   AND    PLAYS    OF 
JOHN    MASEFIELD 


PLAYS 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  •   BOSTON  •    CHICAGO   •  DALLAS 
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MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

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THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


THE 

POEMS    AND    PLAYS    OF 

JOHN    MASEFIELD 


VOLUME   TWO 

PLAYS 


£fom  fork 

THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY 
1920 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1914 

By  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Copyright,  1909,  1910,  1914,  1915,  1916,  1918 

By  JOHN  MASEFIELD 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.      Published  November,  1918. 


PREFACE 

The  first  of  the  plays  in  this  volume,  The  Campden  Wonder, 
was  written  at  Greenwich,  near  London,  at  the  end  of  1905  and 
beginning  of  1906.  I  had  heard  the  fable  of  it,  The  Campden 
Wonder,  in  Chipping  Campden,  in  Gloucestershire  (where  the 
events  happened,  or  are  said  to  have  happened)  some  years  be- 
fore, while  staying  there  with  friends.  I  had  wished,  at  that 
time,  to  write  a  play  upon  the  subject,  and  to  have  it  acted  in 
Campden,  with  other  plays  founded  on  the  events  in  that 
countryside.  This  scheme  came  to  nothing.  In  those  years 
many  people  were  dramatizing  the  events  of  their  cities  and 
districts.  There  were  pageants  at  Romsey,  Winchester,  Oxford, 
Bury  and  other  places.  I  had  hoped  that  the  larger  villages 
might  follow  the  example  of  the  towns.  The  Campden  Wonder 
was  produced  at  the  Court  Theatre  in  London  in  1907. 

Mrs.  Harrison,  The  Sweeps  of  Ninety-Eight  and  The  Locked 
Chest  were  written  at  Greenwich  in  1906.  The  fable  of  Mrs. 
Harrison  is  a  part  of  the  fable  of  The  Campden  Wonder.  It  can 
be  found  in  one  of  the  two  pamphlets  which  preserve  the  story 
of  the  Wonder.  The  Sweeps  is  an  invention,  though  some  of  the 
characters,  Major  Sirr,  and  Thomas  Judkin  Fitzpatrick  once 
lived,  and  used  some  of  the  words  allotted  to  them.  The 
fable  of  The  Locked  Chest  is  taken  from  the  Laxdale  Saga. 
All  these  plays  have  been  acted,  the  second  and  third  many 
times. 

After  I  had  finished  The  Locked  Chest,  I  wished  to  try  a 
longer  play.  A  friend  in  London  told  me  of  a  case  of  miscar- 
riage of  justice  which  had  happened  in  Kent  early  in  the  last 

.lv] 


PREFACE 

century.  I  took  this  as  the  groundwork  of  my  fable  for  The 
Tragedy  of  Nan.  I  added  some  inventions  to  the  fable,  such  as 
an  unhappy  love  affair,  and  the  characters  of  the  household. 
I  began  the  play  in  January  and  finished  it  in  September,  1907, 
at  Greenwich. 

When  I  was  finishing  Nan  I  worked  at  a  one-act  play  upon 
The  Death  of  Pompey  the  Great,  as  described  in  the  life  of  Pom- 
pey  in  North's  Plutarch.  The  tragedy  of  Pompey  seemed  to 
be  too  big  a  subject  for  a  one-act  play,  so  I  left  the  draft  and 
began  anew  on  fuller  lines.  I  wrote  the  first  act  of  the  play  in 
1908  in  London  and  the  second  and  third  acts  in  1909  at  Great 
Hampden. 

My  next  play  was  The  Faithful,  a  pageant  showing  the 
tragedy  of  the  47  Ronin  of  Japan.  This  play  was  begun  at 
Hampstead  in  January  and  finished  at  Great  Hampden  in  May, 
191 3.  I  had  known  the  story  of  The  Ronin  for  many  years, 
and  had  long  hoped  to  make  a  play  of  it,  but  could  not  see  a 
dramatic  form  for  it.  I  planned  it  and  began  to  write  it  (in 
191 2)  as  a  tale  in  verse,  but  changed  my  mind  on  seeing  Mr. 
Granville  Barker's  productions  of  Twelfth  Night  and  The 
Winter  s  Tale.  They  shewed  me  more  clearly  than  any  stage 
productions  known  to  me  the  power  and  sweep  of  Shakespeare's 
construction  of  "scene  undivided  and  passion  unlimited." 
They  helped  me  to  construct  The  Faithful  as  a  play  with  "con- 
tinuous performance"  for  a  double  or  platform  stage. 

After  finishing  The  Faithful,  I  began  the  verse  play,  in  one 
act,  of  Philip  the  King,  about  January,  1914.  Soon  afterwards 
I  began  a  second  one-act  play  in  verse,  on  the  subject  of  Good 
Friday.  Both  of  these  plays  were  begun  at  Hampstead.  Philip 
was  finished  at  Lollingdon  in  May  of  that  fatal  year.  Good 
Friday  was  interrupted  by  the  war  and  never  completed.  I  had 
hoped  in  a  rewriting  to  make  the  play  a  clash  between  Christ 

[vi] 


PREFACE 

and  the  High  Priest.     This  was  one  of  the  many  millions  of 
human  hopes  destroyed  in  that  year. 

I  was  a  playwright,  according  to  my  power,  for  ten  years, 
during  which  the  theatre  in  England  was  the  main  interest  of 
my  fellows  and  myself.  We  did  not  do  what  we  hoped  to  do 
(the  war  stopped  that),  but  we  had  good  fun  in  trying,  and  the 
sport  of  the  effort,  mixed  up,  as  it  was,  with  the  beauty  of  youth 
and  the  depth  of  friendship,  seems  now  some  of  the  salt  of  my 
life.  These  plays  belong  to  the  days  of  before  the  war.  What 
may  come  after  the  war  is  still  unsure;  but  while  we  are  men  we 
have  hope,  that  what  comes  after  us  will  be  better.  I  hope  still 
to  see  in  England  a  theatre  where  playwrights  will  be  doing  eas- 
ily and  well,  and  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  plays  which  we  saw 
in  our  dreams,  in  those  old  days  when  we  thought  the  censor  a 
hardship. 

John  Masefield. 


Ivii] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Campden  Wonder i 

Mrs.  Harrison 41 

The  Locked  Chest 61 

The  Sweeps  of  Ninety-Eight 1 19 

The  Tragedy  of  Nan 143 

The  Tragedy  of  Pompey  the  Great 261 

The  Faithful 377 

Philip  the  King 529 

Good  Friday 581 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 
PERSONS 

PLAYED  BY 

John  Perry Mr,  Norman  McKinnel 

Dick  Perry Mr.  H.  R.  Hignett 

Parson      ......      Mr.  Edmund  Gurnry 

Tom  Constable Mr.  Norman  Page 

Mrs.  Perry       .....  Miss  Carlotta  Addison 
Mrs.  Harrison.         .         .         .         Miss  Dolores  Drummond 

Tkis  play  was  produced  at  the  Court   Theatre,  in  London,  on  the  8th  of 
January,  1907,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  H.  Granville  Barker. 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Scene  I 
Scene.    Harrison's  Kitchen  in  Campden. 

Joan 
Be  the  master  come  home  from  Charringworth  yet? 

Rich: 
I  an't  heard  him,  I  an't. 

Joan 

He  be  gone  a  great  while.    It's  near  ten. 

Rich 

[Going  to  the  door].  Be  you  there,  Master? — No,  a  ben't  come 
home  yet,  Mother. 

Joan 

Why,  whatever  have  a  kept  'en.    If  that  ben't  ten  a  striking! 

Rich 

Old  Mr.  Curtis,  he've  a  harvest  feast  to-night.  Her'll  have 
stopped  with  old  Mr.  Curtis,  Mother.  Her'll  sleep  there  after 
veast,  in  the  barn,  I  do  think. 

Joan 

[Laughing.]  He  be  a  good  one,  he  be.  Seventy  year  old  he 
be — And  her  do  drink,  her  do,  and  her  do  sing.  Law!  how  a  do 
sing,  to  be  sure;  and  a  do  like  a's  ale. 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Rich 

Her  be  a  good  old  soul — A  old  ram,  he  be.  Lor,  now,  to 
think  on  the  merry  deeds  of  him,  the  old  sinful  soul.  Only 
last  year  now — him  away  so  sly  now,  like  a  old  fox.  They  said 
a  was  killed  for  sure;  and  there  a  were  to  Gloucester  surely,  a 
drinking,  a  drinking  merry,  and  him  his  three-score  and  ten! 

Joan 

Her  be  a  merry  old  soul.  Her  be  a  trusty  good  soul — And  a 
be  a  good  master.    HerVe  done  right  by  thee,  Dick. 

Rich 

Her  did  say  this  noon,  I  should  have  twelve  shillin'  a  week 
after  Michaelmas.    That's  more  than  brother  John  gets. 

Joan 

Ah,  to  think  of  that  now!  More  than  thy  brother  John! 
Thy  brother  John — he  be  a  strange  one,  he  be.  I  do  fear  I'll 
live  to  see  thy  brother  John  hanged !  He  be  earnin'  nine  shillin' 
a  week,  and  he  drink  that,  he  do. — And  he  be  a  handsome  lad, 
Dick,  a  fine  grown  lad,  John  be.    He  be  like  his  feyther  was. 

Rich 

I  do  think  as  how  a  should  do  summat  for  you,  Mother,  and 
not  go  a-drinking  all  he  do  earn. 

John 

He  be  a  handsome  lad,  Dick,  thy  brother  John.  A  dear,  a 
dear,  he  be  the  very  spit  of  his  poor  feyther,  and  he  be  a  sad 
one,  he  be;  and  he  do  drink  all  his  nine  shillin' 

[4l 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 
[Enter  John] 

John 
Who  do  drink  all  his  nine  shillin'? 

Joan 
Ah,  John!  there  thou  be,  lad.    You  be  late  out,  John. 

John 

You  were  talking  about  me,  you  were.  You  were  saying  as 
I  drank — you  and  Dick  there.  He  be  a  godly  one,  brother 
Dick  be.  [To  Dick].  You  keep  your  tongue  shut  about  me, 
and  about  my  nine  shillin'.  If  I  do  drink  it,  I  drink  it  open. 
I  ben't  one  to  go  knucklin'  to  pa'son,  I  ben't.  Nor  I  dont'  go 
knucklin'  to  my  lord,  like  some  I  know. 

Joan 
There,  there,  John.    Don't  'ee  take  on,  now! 

Rich 

It  would  be  better,  I  do  think,  if  as  how  you  did  go  knuckling 
as  you  call  it,  stead  of  swillin'  like  a  beast  up  to  beerhouse. 

Joan 

There,  there,  Dick,  lad,  don't  'ee  go  for  to  mad  him.  Speak 
un  fair,  lad —  thy  elder  brother  he  be. 

John 

[Mimicking.]  Ah!  speak  un  fair — You  shut  your  head, 
Mother.  I  be  good  enough  to  stand  up  to  Dick,  I  be.  Who 
goes  swillin'  like  a  beast? 

[Si 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Rich 

You  do.  They  be  fair  shamed  to  speak  to  us,  neighbours 
be.  They  be  a  drunken  lot,  them  Perrys,  they  say — 'Ah,'  they 
say,  "I  see  John  Perry  over  to  Aston.  He  were  asleep  in  the 
ditch,  the  drunken  sot!" 

John 

Who  say? 

Rich 

Parson  say,  and  Farmer  Hill  say,  and  thy  poor  Mother  say, 
and  I  say  too,  if  they  ben't  good  enough. 

John 

Let  un  say!  You  be  a  lot  of  old  puts,  all  on  you —  You  leave 
I,  I  advise  thee.  I  won't  take  no  preachin'  from  you.  You  be  a 
old  put,  and  Mother  be. 

Rich 

Rather  be  a  old  put,  than  rotten  fruit,  you  drunken  dog,  you! 

John 

I  ben't  no  drunken  dog. 

Rich 

You  be. 

Joan 

Ah!    Don't  'ee  mad  un  now,  Dick. 

John 

Better  be  a  drunken  dog  than  a  knuckler  to  Pa* son.  You 
was  always  the  good  one,  you  was.  You  was  like  the  good  boy 
in  the  Bible,  you  always  was.  You  was  born  to  tread  on  my 
corns,  you  was,  you  closhy  put. 

[6] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Rich 
I  ben't  no  closhy  put. 

John 

You've  crossed  I  long  enough,  Master  Dick.  You  cross  I 
no  more,  or  I'll  give  you  a  cross  '11  set  thee  i'  the  muck. 

Rich 
I  don't  cross  thee,  John,  nor  I  never  done. 

John 

You  be  a  liar!  Wan't  you  a  gettin'  sixpence  when  I  were  a 
gettin'  nought?  Wan't  it  you  got  the  hat  give  you?  Wan't 
it  you  got  Master's  coat  with  the  red  trimmings?  And  I  got 
nought.  You  with  your  pretty  face,  you  grinning  pinkanye! 
Wan't  you  a  gettin'  eight  shillin'  when  I  were  a  gettin'  but 
seven?    And  I  your  elder,  and  your  better. 

Dick 

You  be  my  elder,  but  you  ben't  my  better.  If  I  got  eight 
shillin'  an'  you  seven,  it's  because  I  didn't  go  swillin'  over  to 
Aston.    I  didn't  get  drunk,  I  didn't. 

f 
John 

No,  nor  you  hadn't  got  the  soul  in  you,  you  mean.  Then  you 
comes  a  sucking  and  a  trucking  to  Master  Harrison — "Ah!" 
you  says,  "  ben't  I  a  godly  one?  Ben't  I  proper  and  godly?" 
"Ah!"  you  says — So  you  get  took  to  be  his  servant.  Wan't 
that  a  cross  to  me?  Wan't  I  enough  servant  to  him?  I  didn't 
want  no  knucklin'  sniveller  helping  me.  You  call  that  not 
crossing,  don't  you?    Ah! 

m 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Joan 

Now  ha*  done,  John,  ha*  done.  Don't  'ee  mind  thy  brother 
Dick,  John. 

John 

But  I  will  mind  him,  I  tell  'ee.  He  have  crossed  me  since  we 
weren't  that  high.  Ah!  you  dog,  you.  I  be  a  drunken  one,  be 
I  ?  You  must  get  more  than  I  get,  must  you  ?  And  my  lady'll 
speak  to  you.  "Good  mornin',  Perry,"  she'll  say,  "Oh!  what 
beautiful  weather."  "  Good  evenin',  Dick,"  she'll  say,  "  You 
ben't  no  sot,  you  ben't.  You  ben't  like  your  brother  John." — 
No,  no,  you  be  a  innocent  lamb,  you  be;  but  you  be  warned! 
You  have  done  of  your  crossing  me — you  dear  sweet  suckin' 
innocent  lamb.  You  was  him  got  sore  knees  from  praying,  you 
was,  you  dog  of  dogtown ! 

Joan 

Ah!    John  dear,  do  a  done! 

Rich 

Now,  don't  you  go  calling  names,  John  Perry.  I'll  tell  you 
what  you  are.  You're  a  disgrace;  you'll  come  to  a  bad  end. 
I  never  crossed  you,  and  you  know  it.  It's  true  I'm  getting 
more  than  you.  After  Michaelmas  I'll  be  getting  more  still. 
I'll  be  getting  twelve  shilling  a  week.  If  you'd  do  more,  and 
drink  less,  you'd  be  getting  the  same. 

John 

If  I'd  do  more!  Don't  you  preach  to  me.  What's  the  good 
of  doing  more,  with  you  stepping  in  over  my  head.  Twelve 
shilling  a  week  you're  going  to  have,  are  you?  You  are  not. 
You  think  yourself  high  in  the  world.     You  think  you're  a 

[8] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

clever  one.  You  think  you'll  do  better  than  your  brother. 
You  will  not.  Not  with  me  here.  High  in  the  world  you  think 
yourself  with  your  twelve  shilling.  I'll  bring  you  low — III  bring 
you  lower  than  the  lowest. 

Rich 

It'll  take  a  soberer  man  than  you  to  do  it. 

John 

What'll  it  take? 

Joan 

A  dear!  A  dear!  That  ever  I  should  see  the  day!  Go  home, 
Dick  lad,  you're  only  angering  your  brother. 

John 

Lower  than  the  lowest,  I'll  bring  you.  You  shall  drag  in  the 
dirt,  you  and  your  twelve  shillin' ! 

Rich 

I  tell  you  it'll  take  a  soberer  man  than  you.  Go  home,  man. 
Get  someone  to  pump  on  you.  You  need  sobering.  I  wonder 
you're  not  ashamed  to  talk  that  way  afore  your  mother! 

John 

Don't  learn  me  my  duty,  you  Noll  Crumwell's  man,  you 
Dicky  Kill  King! 

Rich 
What  am  I? 

John 
A  canting  put.     That's  what  you  are — and  a  dog — A  dirty 

[9l 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

twelve  shilling  sneck  up  of  a  Ledbury  lawyer;  but  you  mark 
me,  I'll  bring  you  down! 

Rich 
Go  home  and  sleep  it  off,  man.    Pm  sick  of  hearing  you. 

John 

What?  What?    Sick,  are  you?    I'll  make  you  sicker. 

[He  files  at  Rich:  and  grapples  with  him.] 

Joan 
[Running  to  door.]    Help!    Help!    Mrs.  Harrison! 

[Enter  Mrs.  Harrison] 

Mrs.  H: 

Lord  save  us,  and  spare  us!  Good  God,  be  good  to  us!  Why, 
what's  all  this?  Lord  God's  my  mercy;  why,  Dick,  why,  John! 
John,  what  are  you  doing  here?  I  thought  I  forbid  you  my 
kitchen.  Dick,  I'm  ashamed  of  you!  As  for  you,  John,  a  gaol's 
the  best  place  for  you.  Dick,  I'm  ashamed  of  you,  fighting  in 
your  Master's  kitchen,  and  with  your  own  brother!  You'd 
ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself!  It  was  enough  to  turn  all 
the  beer  in  the  cellar,  the  noise  you  were  making. 


He  began  it,  mum! 
You  be  a  liar. 
Remember  your  duty. 


Rich 
John 
Joan 

[IQ] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 


Mrs.  H. 


Now  say  a  word  more,  John  Perry,  and  I'll  have  you  bound 
over.  As  for  you,  Dick,  I'll  tell  your  Master.  Has  your  Master 
come  in  yet? 

Dick 
No  'm.    Us  haven't  heard  him. 

Mrs.  H. 

Lord  God,  be  good  to  a  sinful  woman.  If  I  haven't  enough 
to  bear!  It's  not  enough  that  I  have  my  house  made  a  common 
bawdy  house.  Like  a  den  of  thieves  it  was,  the  noise  you  were 
making;  and  my  man  must  go  boozing  till  I  don't  know  what 
hour. — It'll  be  another  of  this  gallivaunts — I'll  give  him  har- 
vesting when  comes  in.  Go  saddle  the  mare,  one  of  you,  and  go 
to  Charringworth  and  bring  him  back  with  you. 

John 
[Rising.]    I'll  go,  give  me  the  lantern,  Mother. 

Dick 

You  set  down,  John  Perry.  You  ain't  fit  to  bring  any  one 
home. 

John 

Give  I  the  lantern.  [To  Dick]  I'll  give  you  a  bloody  head  if 
you  orders  me. 

Dick 
Set  down,  when  you're  told.    Give  me  that  light. 

[ii] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

John 

No,  you  don't!  Stand  back.  Would  you?  Take  that!  [he 
hits  him]. 

Joan 

Ah,  Lord!    Ah,  Lord!    Don't  'ee,  Dick,  lad. 

Mrs.  H. 

Now,  John  John  Perry — Lord  God's  my  hope  and  mercy. 
There'll  be  bloody  adultery  done.    What,  John,  I  say! 

John 

I'll  learn  'ee. 

Dick 

Let  go  of  my  throat,  or  I'll  hit'ee  one. 

Joan 
Ah  dear!    Ah  dear!    Oh,  do  'ee. 

Mrs.  H. 

[Snatching  a  cider  mug  and  dashing  cider  into  John's  face — 
the  fighters  separate.]  Lord  God's  my  hope  and  mercy!  If  I'm 
not  all  of  a  tremble — all  of  a  tremble  you've  made  me.  And  the 
cider  all  over  my  new  taffety!  Lord  God's  my  witness,  there 
might  have  been  murder  done.  Get  you  of  out  this,  John  Perry. 
I  do  believe,  John,  as  you'd  do  murder.  Get  you  out  of  this. 
Never  you  darken  these  doors  again.  I  believe  as  you'd  cut 
my  husband's  throat — Lord  Jesus  have  mercy!  for  what  he 
had  on  him.  Saddle  the  mare,  Dick.  You're  the  only  one  of 
the  two  I  can  trust.  Saddle  the  mare,  Dick.  Where's  my  bottle 
of  cordials? 

[Exit] 
[12] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 


Dick 


I  knowed  how  it  would  be — and  I  get  disgraced  because  you 
go  swilling  beer,  and  come  here  drunk.     Give  us  the  lantern. 

[He  lights  it.    John  glowers  at  him]. 

Joan 

Ah  dear!  ah  dear!  Ah,  Dick,  I  do  wish  thee  wouldn't  mad 
thy  brother.  Ah  dear!  Ah  dear!  He  be  that  like  his  poor 
feyther. 

Dick 

[Taking  harness  down.]  You're  a  disgrace,  you  are.  You're  a 
disgrace  to  Campden — you're  a  disgrace  to  your  mother.  You 
make  us  shamed.    Ugh,  you  drunkard! 

[Exit  Dick  with  Harness  and  Lantern:    John  glowers  after  him.] 

Joan 

[In  a  quavering  voice.]  Ah  dear,  ah  dear.  I  be  getting  old. 
It  ben't  like  it  were.  There  be  none  to  comfort  me  now  my  man 
is  taken.  If  thy  poor  feyther  were  alive  now!  Ah,  John  dear, 
don't  'ee  mind  thy  brother  Dick.  Ah  dear,  he  do  mad  thee, 
that  he  do.  He  do  vex  thee  sore.  Ah  dear!  I  must  be  getting 
home. — It  be  late.     Don't  'ee  mind  thy  brother  Dick,  John. 

John 

I'll  mind  my  brother  Dick. 

[She  goes  out  slowly  after  waiting  a  moment.  John  glowers 
after  her.] 

John 

[Slowly.]  Old  Harrison  be  out  late.  They  think  he  be  gone 
away  boozing,  but  he  ben't.    Only  I  know  where  old  Harrison 

[13] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

be  gone.  [A  pause.]  Twelve  shillin'  a  week  you  be  gettin'. 
Twelve  shillin'  a  week,  and  I  nought  but  nine.  [The  mare's 
hoofs  sound  outside.]    Ah,  ha,  ha!    I'll  do  it — That's  what  Til  do. 

[Re-Enter  Joan] 

John 
Pll  drag  him  lower  than  the  low,  him  and  his  twelve  shillin'. 

Joan 
Do  'ee  come,  John.    I  be  all  of  a  shake. 

John 
[Going].    Lower  than  the  dirt,  I'll  drag  him. 

Curtain 
[The  Curtain  rises  again  immediately] 

Scene  II 

Scene:  The  same.    Mrs.  Harrison  and  the  Parson.    (Dick 

Perry,  within,  singing,  and  Joan  joining  in  the  chorus,  heard 
faintly.) 

Parson 

Come,  come,  Mrs.  Harrison,  bear  a  good  heart!  Come,  don't 
take  on  so.  Your  husband's  only — only  gone  to  see  a  friend. 
He'll  be  back  to  dinner,  I  daresay. 

Mrs.  H. 

Not  with  the  friends  he  goes  to  see,  no.  Oh,  if  I  haven't  much 
to  bear. 

[14] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 


Parson 


O,  but,  Mrs.  Harrison,  come  now,  go  in  and  take  some  break- 
fast. Why,  your  husband's  well  enough.  Think,  think  of  last 
year,  what  a  turn  he  gave  us.  No  one  would  hurt  Mr.  Harrison. 
It's  absurd.    Anyone  would  think  he  had  been  murdered. 

Mrs.  H. 

Murdered — ah!  There's  some  comfort  in  a  corpse.  There's 
satisfaction  in  a  body.  I  was  saying  that  to  Mrs.  Murrell.  "If 
one  has  the  body,"  I  said,  "one  knows  one  has  done  one's  duty 
by  it."  One  knows  that  it's  all  for  the  best,  and  then  there's 
the  funeral.  O  dear,  O  dear — my  man  lying  drunk  in  a  ditch! 
It's  his  beer  again — Beer,  beer,  beer.  It's  his  ruin.  O,  if  I  had 
you  here,  William  Harrison!  O,  a  corpse  would  be  a  mercy  com- 
pared to  this.  And  half  of  my  lady's  corn  not  cut,  and  the 
reapers  saying  they  must  have  another  penny  a  day.  O,  Wil- 
liam Harrison!  Man  is  a  trial,  and  a  rod  of  affliction.  It's  a 
gnashing  of  teeth  you've  been  to  me. 

Parson 

Why,  my  good  Mrs.  Harrison,  this'll  never  do.  Why,  here's 
John  Perry  back.  Come,  John,  you've  brought  good  news,  I'm 
sure.  Come,  Mrs.  Harrison,  here's  John  back.  Well,  John, 
have  you  found  Mr.  Harrison?    Where  was  he? 

John 
No,  nor  won't  find  him — Neither  you  nor  no  one. 

Parson 
John! 

[if] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

John 
Neither  you  nor  no  one. 

Mrs.  H. 

There,  now!  If  he  hasn't  been  at  the  drink  again.  I  smell  it 
on  him  from  here — like  an  empty  cider  cask.  I  think  I've 
enough  to  bear  without  you  getting  drunk,  John  Perry. 

John 
You  have  enough  to  bear — that's  true. 

Parson 

What  do  you  mean,  John,  man?  He's  not  drunk,  Mrs  Har- 
rison.   What  is  it?    What  has  happened? 

Mrs.  H. 

You  don't  mean  to  say  he  was  seen  with  Mrs.  Emsworth? 
I'm— 

Parson 

Hush,  Mrs.  Harrison — we  are  all  in  God's  hand.  Speak  John. 
Tell  us!  Speak,  man,  can't  you? 

John 
I  want  my  words  took  down. 

[The  Parson  looks  hard  at  him] 

Mrs.  H. 

Is  it  as  bad  as  that?  He's  been  seen  with  the  scarlet  woman! 
He's  been  sitting  on  the  seven  hills.  I  know  it.  O  dear,  O  dear, 
drinking  the  wine  of  wrath. 

I16] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Parson 

Hush,  Mrs.  Harrison.  [He  sits  down  to  ink  and  paper.]  Now, 
John,  tell  us  all  you  have  to  say.  Mrs.  Harrison,  we  are  but 
children,  we  must  submit  to  Providence.  We  are  here  to  de- 
clare the  glory  of  God,  not  to  cry  over  our  little  hurts.  If  Prov- 
idence has  taken  your  husband,  you  should  rejoice.  Now, 
John,  speak,  tell  us  everything.    Come,  Mrs.  Harrison. 

[The  voices  of  Dick  and  Joan  within,  singing 

John 

I  ben't  going  to  tell  my  words,  till  there  be  witnesses.  I  want 
Tom  Constable,  and  I  want  Mother  here,  and  brother  Dick. 
I  got  Tom  Constable,  outside.    I  brought  'en  special. 

Parson 

[Going  to  door.]  Mrs.  Perry!  Dick!  Is  Tom  Constable,  out- 
side there  still,  or  has  he  gone  home? 

Dick 
[Within.]    He  be  here,  sir. 

Parson 

Just  ask  him  to  step  inside,  and  will  you  come  in  too,  both 
of  you  ? 

[Enter  Dick,  Joan  and  Tom  Constable] 

Stand  at  the  door,  Tom,  and  attend  to  what  is  said. 

Tom 
I  will,  sir. 

Parson 

[Aside.]    Mrs.  Perry,  just  get  out  the  cordials,  and  set  them 

[i7l 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

by  Mrs.  Harrison,  I'm  afraid  she  may  swoon.  [She  does  so.]  I 
want  you  all  to  attend  to  what  John,  there,  has  to  say.  Now, 
John,  tell  all  you  know. 

John 

I  ben't  going  to  tell  my  words,  not  till  I  had  my  book-oath 
took. 

Parson 

Lay  your  hand  on  this  testament. 

John 
[Putting  hand  on  testament.}    I  be  going  to  testify. 
[A  pause] 
John 

I  be  going  to  testify.  [Glowering  at  Mrs.  Harrison.]  Mrs. 
Harrison,  thee'd  best  drink  a  drop — I  got  awful  news.  I  got 
awful  news.    Mr.  Harrison  be  dead. 


Parson 

Be  patient,  Mrs. 

Harrison,  hear  all. 
John 

How  dead? 

Murdered  dead. 

All 

What? 

John 

Murdered  dead! 

Parson 

[Standing  up.]    We  are  but  children,  Mrs.  Harrison.     Whom 
God  loveth  he  chasteneth.    How  was  he  murdered,  John? 

[18] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

John 

I  be  going  to  testify.    I  want  my  words  took  down.    [Parson 
takes  pen.] — It  was  us  murdered  Mr.  Harrison. 

All 
What,  what,  what  d'ye  mean  ? 

John 
It  was  I,  and  Mother,  and  Dick  there,  murdered  Mr.  Harrison. 

Dick 
You — liar! 

Joan 

Be  you  gone  mad,  John  ? 

Parson 
Have  a  care  what  you  say,  John  Perry. 

John 
For  his  gold  we  murdered  him. 

Mrs.  H. 
I  don't  believe  a  word  you're  saying — [Weeps.] 

John 
For  his  gold  we  murdered  him. 

Dick 
I  wonder  God  don't  strike  thee  dead,  John. 

Joan 
John  have  gone  crazed,  sir.    It  be  the  sun — he  were  in  the  sun 

[i9l 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

afore  he  took  food  this  morning.    Do  'ee  sit,  John.    Us'll  bathe 
thy  poor  head  for'ee. 

John 

We  murdered  en  dead  for  his  gold.  For  his  gold  we  murdered 
en — didn't  us,  Dick? 

Dick 

Mr.  .  .  .  Sir!  God  have  afflicted  my  poor  brother — He 
don't  know  what  he  say. 

John 

I  know  what  I  say,  I  do.  And  you  do.  It  lie  black  on  my 
breast — It  was  your  bloody  mind  planned  it. 

Mrs.  H. 

You  be  a-lying,  John  Perry.  You  always  was  a  liar!  I  was 
saying  what  a  liar  you  was  only  yesterday,  to  Mrs.  Murrell  I 
said  it — "that  John  Perry  be  a  liar,"  I  said.  Where  did  you 
murder  him?    Where's  the  body? 

John 
We  murdered  en  dead  for  his  gold. 

Dick 

Shall  us  put  leeches  to  en's  head,  Sir?  He  be  mazed.  It  be 
the  blood.     Shall  I  go  fetch  Doctor? 

Parson 

[In  a  hard  voice.]  Stay  where  you  are,  Richard  Perry.  Come 
here  to  the  table — and  you,  Mrs.  Perry.  Will  you  lay  your 
hands  to  this  testament  and  swear  you  are  innocent  of  this 
crime?    This  crime  John  accuses  you  of? 

[20] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Dick 

Sir,  you  don't  surely — sir,  you  don't  go  for  to  believe  him? 
Sir,  you  don't  go  for  to  believe  him? 

Joan 

My  poor  boy  be  crazed,  sir.     Make  'en  set,  sir.     He  don't 
know  what  he  do  say. 

Parson 

I  ask  you  to  put  you  hands  to  this  testament,  and  swear  you 
are  innocent  of  this  crime.    This  crime  John  here  accuses  you  of. 

Dick 

Sir,  you  ben't  thinking — O!     God,  sir,  you  ben't  thinking 
that? 

Joan 

I  do  swear  it,  Sir.     I  swear  it  purely.     Do  'ee  let  me  bathe 
his  head  now,  Sir.    It  be  only  a  wammering-like. 

John 
It  ben't  no  wammering.    It  lie  black  on  my  breast. 

Parson 

Come  here  to  the  table,  Dick  Perry.    I  want  you  to  swear — 
Put  your  hand  on  this  testament. 

Dick 
[Aloud,]    What  be  I  to  say,  sir? 

John 
Say  how  we  killed  en,  Dick.     Say  how  we  laid  en  dead. 

[21] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 


Dick 


I  say  you  be  a  wicked  liar,  John,  a  liar  afore  God.  I  say  as 
I  be  false  accused,  and  as  Mother  is.  And  I  say  you  be  a  wicked 
liar,  John,  or  you  be  smit  mad. 

John 

You  come  to  me  last  night,  you  did.  And  Mother  come — 
"Let's  kill  en,"  you  said — And  you'd  said  it  afore.  "Let's  kill 
en,"  you  said — and  Mother  said  it. 

Dick 

Parson,  do  believe  en!  [A  pause.] — God  help  my  poor  wife! 
[He  goes  to  testament.] — I  do  swear  as  I  be  false  accused.  As  I 
be  innocent — And  as  Mother  be. 

Mrs.  H. 

And  I  believe  thee,  Dick.  Thy  brother  John  be  a  liar:  to 
Mrs.  Murrell  I  said  it.    If  he  ben't  swooning,  now. 

[Dick  puts  his  hand  to  his  head,  and  sways  a  moment.  He 
takes  out  a  handkerchief,  as  he  takes  it  out  he  drops  some  twine.] 

John 

[Pounding  on  the  twine.]  Now  what  d'ye  say,  Dick  Perry? 
'Ee  don't  know  this,  do  'ee,  now.  What  be  this  string,  Dick? 
What  be  this,  Mother? 

Dick 
It  be  my  poor  wife's  hair  net. 

Joan 
Why,  so  it  be.    It  be  a  hair  net,  to  be  sure. 

[22] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Parson 

What  do  you  know  of  this  hair-string,  John  Perry?  Do  you 
know  it  ? 

John 

I  know  it,  I  do.  And  Mother  know  it,  and  Dick.  To  our 
cost  we  know  it.    It  be  the  cord  we  murdered  en  with. 

Joan  and  Dick 
Oh,  John  Perry! 

Parson 

Where  was  this?    This  that  you  say? 

John 

Below  Battle  Ridge.  At  the  foot  o'hill  it  were.  By  the  brook, 
where  they  found  ens  collar. 

Joan 
Us  was  never  nigh  the  place. 

Dick 

John,  have  done  with  thy  sport.  Say  you  be  fooling.  Parson 
— Do  'ee  think  what  'ee  be  saying. 

John 

I  do  think,  I  do.  And  you  think.  I  confessed,  I  have.  I 
made  a  clean  breast — our  sin  be  black — black  it  be — to  kill 
poor  Mr.  Harrison. 

Parson 

Be  calm,  Mrs.  Harrison,  hear  all.  [He  writes.]  Now  tell  us 
how  you  killed  him.  Listen  Tom,  you  will  have  to  give  evi- 
dence at  the  trial. 

[23] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Dick  and  Joan 

Sir,  don't  you  believe  en.  Sir,  you  ben't  goin'  to  believe  en. 
He  be  lying,  sir.  Mrs.  Harrison  knows  he  be  lying.  He  be 
smit  mad,  sir. 

Parson 

Keep  silence,  please.  You  will  be  heard  in  due  course.  Now, 
John. 

John 

So  brother  Dick  he  says,  "Let's  kill  en,"  "For  ens  gold," 
says  Mother.    Often  they'd  said  it.    So  us  goes  out — 

Parson 
What  time  was  this? 

John 

It  were — it  were  twelve.  So  us  goes  out,  and  we  see  old 
Mr.  Harrison  coming,  singing.  In  the  moonlight  we  seed  en, 
and  Dick  and  Mother  and  I,  we  strangles  un — with  this  cord. 
O,  it  were  a  black  deed! 

Mrs.  H. 

[Interrupting.]  John  Perry,  you  be  lying — where's  the  body? 
I  don't  believe  as  my  poor  man  be  dead.  Nor  I  won't.  Not 
till  I  touch  his  cold  corpse — there  now. 

Parson 
Where  is  the  body,  John? 

John 

Mother  and  Dick  took  ens  body.  They  were  hardened  uns, 
they  were.  I  were  that  shook  by  our  black  deed!  O,  a  black 
deed  it  were.  Where  did  'ee  put  ens  corpse,  Mother?  Hey, 
Dick? 

[24] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Dick 

[To  Parson.]  Sir,  he  be  play-acting.  You  see  he  be  play- 
acting. 

Joan 

If  my  poor  man  were  alive,  us  wouldn't  be  like  this,  us 
wouldn't.  Do  'ee  not  damn  thy  soul  black,  John.  Thou 
knows  us  be  innocent. 

John 

A  proper  hardened  un,  you  was;  and  Dick  was. 

Parson 

Richard  Perry,  can  you  now,  in  the  sight  of  God,  put  your 
hand  on  this  testament,  and  swear  yourself  innocent,  after 
what  John  here  has  said?    Can  you  Mrs.  Perry? 

Mrs.  P. 

I  be  a  poor  old  widow  woman,  I  be.  I  an't  got  no  man,  I 
an't,  not  since  my  poor  man  were  took.  Seventy  year  have  I 
lived  in  Campden,  and  some  time  it  have  been  hard,  and  some 
time  it  have  been  not  so  hard;  and  us  have  had  our  little  home, 
us  have,  though  us  were  poor.  I  have  brought  my  sons  up  in 
the  fear  of  the  Lord.  I  wasn't  never  questioned  like  this  afore. 
Us  have  borne  a  good  name,  us  have,  though  us  were  poor. 
I  be  innocent,  Sir.    God  forgive  my  poor  lying  boy. 

John 
God  forgive  thee  leading  I  to  murder. 

Parson 
Now,  Richard  Perry. 

[25] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 


Mrs.  H 


Dick  be  fainting.  [To  Parson.]  It  be  a  cruel  shame,  it  be, 
sir,  to  vex  us  so.    For  shame,  Sir. 

Dick 

I  be  innocent,  I  be.  John  knows  I  be  innocent.  My  poor 
wife  knows  I  be,  and  Mother  knows.  [He  touches  book  and 
sways.] 

Parson 

His  nose  is  bleeding.  It  is  the  hand  of  God.  God  hath  spoken, 
Tom. 

Tom 
Ess,  sir. 

Parson 
Call  thy  men. 

[Tom  goes  to  door  and  whistles.] 

Dick 
What  be  'ee  going  to  do,  please,  sir.    Us  have  sworn. 
[Enter  Men] 
Parson 
Tom  Constable,  take  John  here,  and  Dick,  and  Mrs.  Perry, 
to  the  lock-up. 

Dick 
Sir,  do  'ee  now! 

Tom 

Thee'd  best  come  quiet,  Dick.    Us  won't  hurt  'ee. 

Dick 

But  I  be  innocent.    It  be  a  lie.    I  ben't  no  murderer. 

[26] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Parson 

You  will  be  able  to  prove  that  at  your  trial.  Remove  them, 
Tom. 

John 

Our  blood  be  due  for  our  black  deed — Us  shall  all  hang. 

Joan 

Give  me  thy  arm,  Tom.  I  be  a  old  woman.  I  ain't  got  no 
man,  I  an't.  Book  says  us  must  be  patient.  [She  goes  to  John 
and  strokes  his  face.]  John,  boy,  thee  be  that  like  thy  dad,  John. 
Us  must  get  Doctor  to  un,  mustn't  us,  Dick?  [She  makes  her 
reverence  to  Parson.] 

Tom 

Come,  mother,  lean  on  my  arm. 

Dick 
Bear  on  me,  Mother.    [They  support  her  to  door.] 

Joan 

[Turning  at  door.]  Mrs.  Harrison,  us  be  poor  folk,  false  ac- 
cused.   Do  'ee  get  Doctor  to  look  to  my  poor  boy. 

John 
Us  shall  be  like  Staffordshire — three  hung  in  one  knot. 

Parson 
Do  your  office,  Tom. 

[Exeunt  Constables,  etc.] 

[Manent  Parson  &  Mrs.  Harrison] 

Bear  up,  Mrs.  Harrison.    We  are  like  old  lanterns  in  the  hall — 

[27] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

we  are  dark — we  are  broken.  And  anon  God  takes  us,  and  sets 
us  on  the  walls  of  Heaven,  amid  unspeakable  beauty,  to  light 
His  Courts.     Your  husband — 

Mrs.  H. 

Mr.  Parson,  sir.  You  be  a  man  of  God,  and  you  be  a  scholard. 
It  don't  beseem  the  likes  of  me  to  talk  plain  to  the  likes  of  you. 
You'd  ought  to  go  down  on  your  knees  and  ask  forgiveness. 
You  be  swift  to  shed  innocent  blood.  You  talk  of  lanterns,  and 
such.  Down  on  your  knees,  you  ought  to  go.  You've  been  and 
committed  them  Perrys  on  the  word  of  a  liar  and  a  dog.  My 
man  ben't  murdered — my  man  ben't  murdered.  That  John 
Perry'd  hang  his  mother  for  a  sup  of  drink. 

Parson 

Mrs.  Harrison,  John  Perry  would  not  accuse  himself;  you  for- 
get yourself. 

Mrs.  H. 

Forget  myself,  do  I!  In  my  own  house — quotha!  Ladida 
indeed — so  I  forget  myself!  You  be  a  sneck  up  of  a  covetuous 
Levite,  a  creeping  into  widows'  houses.  That's  what  you  be. 
Ladida  indeed!  But  I  ben't  no  widow.  When  my  man  comes 
home  he  shall  reckon  with  thee,  he  shall.  And  the  Perrys  shall. 
They'll  teach  'ee  to  shed  innocent  blood  on  the  word  of  a  dog 
and  a  liar.    Marry,  come  up! 

[Exit  Parson] 

O,  Willy  Harrison,  Willy  Harrison!  You  and  your  beer  will  be 
my  death. 

Curtain 

[28] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 


Scene  III 


[A  room  in  the  lock-up  at  Broad  Campden.  Mrs.  Perry, 
Dick,  John,  secured  by  wrists  and  ankles  to  chains.  They  are 
in  different  corners.    A  table  in  front.] 

Joan 

Us  be  to  die,  Dick.  Do  'ee  bear  up,  lad.  Thou,  knows 
John,  as  us  be  innocent.  And  God  he  knows  it.  Us  shall  have 
mercy,  Dick.  Us  shall  walk  the  gold  streets  and  that — for- 
ever, Amen. 

Dick 

It  be  easy  for  you  to  talk,  Mother.  I  do  think  of  my  poor 
wife,  I  do,  and  of  my  poor  babes.  "  There  goes  his  wife,"  they'll 
say.  That's  what  neighbours'll  say.  "  Him  as  killed  poor 
Mr.  Harrison." 

John 

"  As  killed  him  for  uns  gold." 

Dick 

John,  do  'ee  now  speak.  Say  as  us  be  innocent.  Don't  'ee 
see  us  hanged,  boy.  There  be  my  poor  wife,  and  my  poor  babes. 
Do  'ee  speak,  John,  speak.  Her'll  be  but  a  tramp,  and  my 
little  Nan  and  all.  Her  were  saying  so  pretty — And  I  shan't 
see  un  again.  Lord,  never  again!  And  her'll  want  bread  to 
eat,  and  go  to  bed  crying.  Do  'ee  speak,  John.  For  God's 
sake,  John,  say  as  us  be  innocent. 

John 

Us'll   have   ballads  sung — and   I   shouldn't  wonder.     Us'll 

[29] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

all  be  in  a  ballad.  "  The  bloody  Perrys,  they  was  hanged — O, 
grief!"  And  there'll  be  drums,  and  the  sun  a-shining — on 
Broadway  Hill  and  all.  And  there'll  be  neighbours.  Sure  to 
be.  And  us'll  go  in  a  cart,  like  high  up  folk.  u  There  they  go"; 
neighbours'll  say,  "  as  killed  un  for  ens  gold.  They  was  always 
bad  ones,  them  Perrys,"  they'll  say. 

Joan 

John,  thou  be  going  afore  thy  Maker,  thou  be.  Us  be  going 
to  die  to-day.  It  be  a  sad  thing  for  a  old  woman  to  die  with  her 
sons — her  two  boys,  as  she's  been  that  proud  of.  To  be  hanged 
up  on  a  hill  with  neighbours  calling  her  a  old  witch.  And  then, 
there  be  Dick's  little  maids.  O,  John,  do  'ee  speak,  lad!  And 
us  won't  be  put  in  churchyard.  I  shan't  lie  with  my  poor  man, 
a  dear!  Whatever  will  I  do,  a  dear!  I  shan't  lie  with  my  poor 
man! 

John 

I  ben't  going  to  speak,  I  ben't.  I  said  my  say.  To  Judge 
I  said  it.  Her  were  all  in  her  red  gownd.  "  Ah,  you  Perry," 
he  said:  "  you  be  a  notable  rogue."  Her  had  a  sword  afore  her. 
Now  us  be  going  to  be  hanged.  I  wonder  will  us  have  ale  give 
us.    Old  Cop  of  Aston,  they  give  him  ale. 

[Enter  Tom  Constable] 

Tom 
Master  Parson,  sir. 

Joan 

He  ben't  here — yet — Tom. 

Tom 

Can  I  do  aught  for  'ee,  Mrs.  Perry? 

[30] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Joan 

Us  be  past  it,  Tom,  I  do  thank  'ee.  It  be  my  boy,  John,  and 
my  boy,  Dick,  as  I  be  grieved  for.  And  them  little  maids  of 
Dick's.  Us  be  false  accused,  us  be,  my  poor  mad  boy  knows. 
And  God  knows.  And  them  little  ones'll  want  bread  when  us 
be  gone! 

Tom 

Mrs.  Harrison  have  took  Dick's  little  ones.  God  save  'ee, 
Mother.  Us  knows  as  you  be  innocent.  And  neighbours  says 
it.    God  bless  ee,  Dick,  if  I  don't  see  ee  again. 

Dick 

God  bless  'ee  for  thy  kind  words.  'Ee  comfort  poor  Nan, 
Tom.  Don't  'ee  let  folk  say  as  her  Daddy  were  hung.  God 
comfort  my  poor  Nan. 

Tom 

God  bless  'ee,  Dick,  lad,  and  comfort  'ee.  God  forgive  'ee, 
John.  Thy  hands  be  red  of  blood,  John;  God  forgive  'ee.  [To 
Parson.]    Saving  your  presence,  sir. 

Parson 
Go,  Tom. 

[Exit  Tom] 

Joan 
I  be  ready,  sir.    I  be  ready  to  go  in  the  cart. 

Parson 

Ah,  Mrs.  Perry!  In  a  few  moments  you  will  be  before  God's 
Judgment  Seat,  a  trembling  bird  on  God's  hand.     How  will 

[31] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

you  ask  mercy  of  Him,  when  you  have  hardened  your  heart 
here  on  earth;  denying  the  guilt  for  which  you  suffer! 

Joan 

I  ben't  afeard  to  meet  my  God,  sir.  God  have  pity  upon  the 
poor  and  on  the  widows.  I  be  innocent  of  blood,  I  be.  I've 
been  a  great  sinner,  and  I  be  punished  for  it.  I  set  my  boy 
John  afore  my  boy  Dick.  Parson,  I  be  dying.  Will  'ee  let  I  lie 
in  Chrisom  ground?  Let  I  lie  near  my  man,  Parson,  along 
of  my  poor  husband? 

[Enter  Tom] 

Tom 

[In  a  choking  voice.]    It  be  the  Sheriff,  sir. 

Parson 

Come,  Mrs.  Perry.  You  are  about  to  walk  in  Paradise, 
among  the  holy  ones.  You  are  about  to  stand  before  God, 
in  the  glory  unspeakable.    Lean  on  me — lean  on  Tom  here. 

Joan 

John,  won't  'ee  say  now  as  we  be  false  accused?  'Ee  won't 
see  thy  old  mother  hanged?  Do  'ee  speak.  Say  as  you  spoke 
lies,  John.    Thee  knows  'ee  did. 

Dick 
For  God's  sake,  John. 

John 

I  confessed  to  Parson,  and  I  confessed  to  Judge,  I  ben't  bound 
to  confess  to  you. 

[32] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Joan 

God  have  mercy  on  us  all  then.  May  He  have  mercy  on 
you,  John — And  on  you,  Dick — and  on  me,  thy  mother — and 
on  all  poor  souls.  May  us  meet  glorified  in  God's  golden  courts, 
Amen. 

Parson 

Amen.    Come,  Mrs.  Perry. 

Joan 

God  be  with  'ee,  Dick.  I've  put  'ee  to  bed,  Dick,  a  many 
times.    But  now  I  be  going  to  bed  afore  you. 

Dick 
God  be  with  'ee,  Mother.    God  comfort  'ee. 

Joan 

God  be  with  'ee,  too,  John.  For  all  your  sins.  [She  turns 
to  go.]  'Ee  be  that  like  thy  poor  feyther,  John.  I  be  going  to 
God's  holy  house. 

Tom 

Lean  on  me  Mother.    [They  go  out  at  door — the  drums  beat  up.} 

John 
O,  us  be  going  to  have  drums. 

Dick 

Thou  be  a  dog,  John,  thou  be.  O,  John,  say  as  us  be  inno- 
cent, say  it  out,  now.  It'll  save  Mother.  It'll  save  my  little 
Nan.    .    .     Call,  John;  call!    O,  John,  thou  be  a  dog! 

[33  1 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

John 

Call,  Dick.  That  be  right.  Call,  Dick.  Shout!  Thy  throat 
it  won't  call  much  longer. 

Dick 
Ah,  God! 

John 

O !  It  be  u  Ah,  God  "  now,  be  it !  It  were  "  I  be  a  proper  godly 
one,"  it's  not  so  long  since.  How  about  thy  twelve  shillin'  a 
week,  Dick?  You  that  was  to  be  that  high  in  the  world?  Eh, 
Dick?  Thy  twelve  shillin'?  Lower  than  the  dirt  I've  dragged 
'ee.  Like  I  said  I'd  do.  Lower  than  the  dirt,  thou  and  thy 
twelve  shillin'. 

Dick 

Then  thee  ben't  mad.    Thee've  sworn  our  lives  away! 

John 
You  be  a  clever  one,  you  be! 

[Re-enter  Parson,  very  white  and  sick,  and  Tom] 

Dick 

Parson,  John  have  confessed.  He've  confessed  he  have  sworn 
false.    O!  Parson,  do  'ee  save  Mother.    He  have  confessed,  sir. 

John 

He  be  mazed,  sir.  Give  un  a  cordial,  Parson.  He  be  clean 
mazed. 

Dick 

O,  Sir,  hear  en.  Do  'ee  save  Mother.  Her  said  he'd  done  it 
a  purpose  to  cross  I.    Do  'ee  listen,  sir. 

[34] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Parson 

Come,  Richard  Perry.  Compose  yourself.  We  are  poor 
flames  blowing  in  the  wind,  now  one  way,  now  another.  In 
the  peace  of  God's  house  our  light  will  burn  steadily.  Come, 
Richard  Perry. 

[Tom  undoes  chains] 

Dick 

God  help  my  poor  wife.  God  help  all  dying  men  as  folk 
won't  listen  to!  I've  lived  honest,  and  I've  worked  honest, 
and  this  be  the  end. 

Parson 

It  is  but  the  beginning.  There  is  no  end  to  the  glory  and  the 
peace  of  God. 

Dick 

[To  John.]  And  no  end  to  the  fire  for  such  as  thee,  John. 
May  the  red  hot  worms  gnaw  thy  body,  John.  You  dog,  you 
dog! 

Parson 

Come,  Dick.    Help  him,  Tom. 

Dick 

O  Parson,  do  'ee  make  John  speak.  He  have  confessed,  sir. 
O!  sir,  he  have  confessed.  Indeed,  sir,  he've  confessed.  Make 
un  speak,  Parson.     It'll  save  my  Nan. 

Parson 

Come,  Dick.  It  is  but  a  step.  Do  not  seek  to  stay  longer 
in  this  wicked  world. 

[35l 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Dick 

But  he've  confessed,  Parson.  He've  said  as  he  were  lying. 
O!  sir,  do  'ee. 

John 

Give  un  a  cordial,  Parson.    He  be  fair  mazed.    Help  en,  Tom. 

Tom 
Come,  be  a  man,  Dick! 

[Exeunt — The  drums  again] 
John 

There  he  do  go,  him  and  his  twelve  shillin'.  Ah,  you  godly 
one!  Ha,  you  godly  one !  They  got  you.  Lower  than  the  dirt, 
like  as  I  said  I'd  do.  Afore  all  Campden!  You  and  your  twelve 
shillin'!  Make  un  a  speech,  Dick.  Make  thy  speech  and  con- 
fession. O!  if  I  might  see  thee.  O!  if  only  door  were  open. 
Thee  be  looking  pale,  you  and  your  twelve  shillin\  You  that 
thought  to  be  high  in  the  world.    Aha!    Aha! 

[A  cry  without  and  drums] 
There  he  do  go!    Aha!    Aha! 

[A  pause] 
[Re-Enter  Parson  and  Tom] 

Parson 
O!  the  pity  of  it,  the  pity  of  it!     O!    Lord  strengthen  me. 

John 
Mr.  Parson,  Sir,  might  I  speak  to  *ee,  sir? 

Parson 

In  a  minute.    In  a  minute,  John.    O!  Lord,  have  pity. 

[36] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

John 
I  be  a  dying  man,  Parson.    I  got  summat  to  say  to  'ee. 

[Parson  stands] 

Parsons,  will  'ee  give  I  comfort?    I  been  a  great  sinner,  I  have. 

I  been  drunk,  and  I  stole;  and  I  been  poaching,  and  I  gone  with 

women.    And  I  kill  poor  Mr.  Harrison.    O!    I  been  a  black  one, 

I  have.    Shall  I  have  mercy,  Parson?    Be  I  doomed  to  the  fire? 

Parson 

There  is  joy,  John,  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth.  God's 
mercy  is  infinite.    Put  your  trust  in  Him,  John. 

John 
Ah,  sir.    I  do  feel  it  in  my  heart.    It  be  a  glow,  like. 

Parson 
Come,  John  Perry. 

[Tom  undoes  chains] 
There  is  yet  one  thing,  John.    Where  is  Mr.  Harrison's  body? 
You  are  about  to  die,  John.     Tell  us  this,  that  he  may  have 
Christian  burial. 

John 

It  were  Dick  and  Mother  took  his  body,  sir.  I  don't  know 
where  it  be,  I  don't.  But  perhaps  one  day  you'll  find  en.  You'll 
be  wiser  on  that  day,  Parson. 

Parson 

You  talk  strangely,  John. 

John 

A  dying  man  have  a  right  to  talk  strange.  I  be  ready,  Sir. 
Will  you  say  a  prayer  for  me,  Sir?    "Our  Father"  or  summat. 

[37] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Parson 

Repeat  it  after  me,  John.     Come. 

[Exeunt:  Drums  again] 

[A  pause,  during  which  the  drums  beat.  Then  a  march  as  the 
troops  pass  away.] 

[Enter  Mrs.  Harrison,  panting] 

Mrs.  H. 

Are  you  there,  Dick?  Ah!  Ah!  If  I'm  not  near  my  death. 
Are  you  there,  Dick?    Mrs.  Perry! 

[Enter  Parson.  Mrs.  H.  fans  herself.  Parson  mops  his 
brow.] 

Parson 

The  wages  of  sin  is  death.  [He  mops  and  sits  down.]  The 
wages  of  sin  is  death.  He  talked  strangely.  And  the  old  woman 
— Ah,  God,  her  gray  hairs — and  then  the  frantic  one,  about  his 
child.  Ah,  have  pity,  O  Father!  The  wages  of  sin  is  death, 
death.    It  has  been  a  terrible  day.    A  terrible  day. 

Mrs.  H. 

What's  terrible?  How  has  it  been  terrible?  What  ails  you, 
man? 

Parson 

[Looking  at  her.]    O,  Mrs  Harrison — 

Mrs.  H. 
Oh  ?    Well,  he's  come  home,  like  I  said  he  would. 

Parson 
Who? 

[38] 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Mrs.  H. 
Who?  Why,  William  Harrison,  my  husband. 

Parson 
Come  home? 

Mrs.  H. 

Yes,  come  home,  like  I  said  he  would. 

Parson 
Come  home? 

Mrs.  H. 

If  you  don't  vex  a  sinful  woman's  flesh!    Yes,  he  has  come 
home — boozing — That's  where  he's  been. 

[Parson  covers  his  eyes  and  moans] 

[Aloud.]     Now,  don't  set  there  moaning — You've  got  to  set 
them  Perrys  free. 

[She  goes  to  him  and  shakes  him] 

Go  and  find  'em,  and  set  'em  free.  Come,  come,  now,  don't  'ee 
take  it  to  heart.  We  all  make  mistakes.  That  John  Perry,  he 
might  have  had  'em  all  hanged. 

Parson 
[Weakly.]    They  are — all  hanged. 

Mrs.  H 
What? 

Parson 
Hanged.    This  morning. 

Mrs.  H. 
But  it  was  to-morrow. 

(39l 


THE  CAMPDEN  WONDER 

Parson 
No,  to-day. 

Mrs.  H. 

But  this  be  the  sixteenth?    This  be  Tuesday? 

Parson 

No.    [A  long  pause.] 

Mrs.  H. 

So  that's  why  the  town  was  empty.    That's  why  the  prison's 
got  no — [Fiercely.]     Be  you  telling  the  truth? 

Parson 
O,  don't,  don't! 

[A  pause] 

Mrs.  H. 
May  God  be  good  to  a  sinful  woman. 

Parson 
Amen. 

Mrs.  H. 

They  be  happy  to  be  out  of  such  a  world. 

Parson 
"O,  Father,  Now  is  my  soul  troubled,  and  what  shall  I  say?" 

Mrs.  H. 
Us  be  two  poor  souls,  Parson. 

[Crying  and  laying  her  hand  on  his] 

Curtain 

[40] 


MRS.  HARRISON 


MRS.  HARRISON 
PERSONS 

Will  Harrison 
Parson 

Tom  Constable 
Mrs.  Harrison 


MRS.  HARRISON 
Scene:    A  Room  in  Mrs.  Harrison's  House. 

Mrs.  H. 

There's  your  cider.  Take  it;  there's  a  toast  in  it.  Take  it. 
And  now,  you  and  I  will  have  a  reckoning. 

Will  H. 
Huh! 

Mrs.  H. 

[Rapping  table.]  You  may  groan  and  you  may  grunt,  but 
you'll  listen  to  me.  And  you'll  answer  me.  You'll  answer  me, 
before  you  leave  this  room. 

Will  H. 
Gerr  yer. 

Mrs.  H. 

I  want  to  know  about  you,  William  Harrison.  A  nice  hus- 
band you've  been  to  me.  And  now  I  want  to  know  about  you, 
and  you'll  answer  me.  Where' ve  you  been  all  this  long  while  ? 
Where' ve  you  been,  I  say?  What  Dolly  Draggletails  have  you 
been  with  ? 

Will  H. 

Ah,  put  your  head  in  a  bag! 

Mrs.  H. 

Put  my  head  in  a  bag!  Put  my  head  in  a  bag!  You  low 
dog,  you.    There's  a  way  to  talk  to  a  woman.    There's  a  way 

[43] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

to  talk  to  a  wife.  How  dare  you  tell  me  put  my  head  in  a  bag. 
How  dare  you,  after  what's  past?  How  dare  you?  After 
leaving  me  alone  this  long  while.  Is  this  a  world  to  leave  a 
woman  alone  in?  Is  this  a  world  to  leave  a  nice,  comely,  decent, 
fine-grown  woman  alone  in?    Let  alone  your  wife! 

Will  H. 
Huh!    I  run  no  risks  leaving  you. 

Mrs.  H. 

No.  So  you  ran  no  risks,  didn't  you?  There's  some  would 
have  said  different.  There's  some  set  a  higher  price  on  beauty 
than  what  you  do.  A  comely  woman's  something  to  them, 
it  is. 

Will  H. 

It  is,  is  it?    They're  welcome! 

Mrs.  H. 

When  you've  done  with  your  insults,  we'll  talk.  Where' ve 
you  been  all  this  long  while  ? — You've  been  with  your  beer  and 
your  dollymops! — I'm  sick  to  think  I've  kissed  you. 

Will  H. 
And  I  am. 

Mrs.  H. 

Thank  you.  Thank  you  for  nothing.  And  now  I  want  an 
answer.  When  you've  done  with  your  sneers  and  your  jeers 
I  want  an  answer.  D'ye  know  what  you've  done  by  going 
away  ?  D'ye  know  what  your  beer  and  your  trollopsing  have 
been  the  cause  of? 


MRS.  HARRISON 


Will  H. 


I  know  what  your  naggin's  '11  be  the  cause  of.  Here — [he 
bangs  mug] — Cider. 

Mrs.  H. 
You'll  answer  me  first. 

Will  H. 
Cider,  I   say. 

Mrs.  H. 

You  have  been  the  cause  of  three  folk  being  hanged; — John 
Perry,  and  Dick  Perry  and  poor  old  Mrs.  Perry; — Hanged. 
Hanged  by  the  neck!  That's  a  fine  thing,  isn't  it,  for  beer  and 
trulls  to  do?  Where' ve  you  been,  you  tank,  you  dog,  you  low 
thing.    Where' ve  you  been?    What  can  you  say  for  yourself? 

Will  H. 
Gimme  my  cider.    Gimme  my  cider  when  I  tell  you! 

Mrs.  H. 

[Snatching  cider  mug.]  Here!  [She  smashes  it  on  floor  and 
stamps  on  fragments.]  There!  That's  all  the  cider  you'll  get. 
Now,  answer. 

Will  H. 

[Getting  up  and  snatching  her  wrists.]  Be  that  the  game? 
Well,  I'll  answer.  Sit  down  there.  And  you  say  another  word, 
and  you'll  get  a  knock'll  give  you  sense!  I'll  tell  you  where 
I've  been;  and  keep  it  dark.  You'd  better.  You  speak  a 
word  of  it,  and  you'll  be  missed.  The  first  dark  night  as  comes, 
you'll  be  missed. 

Mrs.  H. 

That  means  you'll  murder  me. 

[45 1 


MRS.  HARRISON 


Will  H. 


Listen!  I  went  away  acos  I  was  paid  to  go  away.  D'ye 
understand  that?    Paid. 

Mrs.  H. 
Who  paid  you? 

Will  H. 

Ah!  Wouldn't  you?  And  I  was  paid  three  hundred  golden 
pound  to  go  away.  And  my  going  away  was  worth  that  to  the 
man  as  paid  it. 

Mrs.  H. 

Where  did  'ee  go  to  ? 

Will  H. 

I  weren't  never  more'n  twenty  mile  away. 

Mrs.  H. 
Then  'ee  knew.     'Ee  knew  of  what — 'ee  knew  of  the  Perrys? 

Will  H. 
I  knowed  all  about  the  Perrys. 

Mrs.  H. 
You  knowed  about  the  Perrys  ? 

Will  H. 
And  glad  to. 

Mrs.  H. 

You  knowed  they  was  to  be  hanged  ? 

Will  H. 
And  glad  to. 

[46] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

Mrs.  H. 
And  'ee  could  have  saved  'en. 

Will  H. 

I  knowed  one  worth  two  of  that.  You  listen  to  I  and  keep 
your  mouth  shut.  John  Perry  knew  where  I  were.  And  why 
I'd  gone.  Think  Pd  let  'en  live  when  he  were  that  crazy  to  go 
and  get  hanged  ?  Think  Pd  stop  'en  hanging  when  he  knew  my 
secret?    Gerr  yer;  talk  sense! 

Mrs.  H. 

Then  you  let  them  poor  souls  be  hanged,  knowing  they  was 
innocent. 

Will  H. 
Ah,  talk  sense. 

Mrs.  H. 

You  set  by  and  let  them  all  be  hanged  ? 

Will  H. 

Didn't  I  tell  you  I  got  three  hundred  pound?  What's  the 
Perrys  to  me?  I  know  my  duty,  I  hope.  Hark  you  to  me, 
missus.  It  was  my  Lord  give  me  that  £300.  It  was  to  my 
Lord's  advantage  I  should  be  away  awhile.  What's  three 
Perrys,  or  six  Perrys,  or  a  churchful  of  Perrys  to  my  Lord? 
Hark  you  to  me!  [He  gets  up  and  goes  to  her.]  And  you  breathe 
so  much  as  a  shuddering,  wee  glimmer  of  a  whisper, —  you  just 
raise  your  little  dove-like  voice — you  just  dare  to!  [He  snaps 
his  fingers.]    And  it'll  be  your  last. 

Mrs.  H. 
[Slowly.]      And — I'm — to — live — with — a — murderer?      I've 

[47] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

had  a  murderer  to  bed  with  me,  and  held  'en  in  my  arms!  [To 
Will  H.]  And  what  tale  will  you  tell  the  neighbours?  What 
tale  am  I  to  tell  the  neighbours  when  they  ask?  Lord  God!  if 
it  ben't  pitiful! 

Will  H. 

Damn  the  neighbours!    Gimme  my  cider. 

Mrs.  H. 

There's  footsteps  coming  up  the  walk.  It'll  be  parson.  0 
God,  Will,  what  be  I  to  tell  en? 

[A  knock  at  the  door] 

Will  H. 

Why,  tell  'en — tell  'en — Tell  'en  something;  you'd  better. 
Say  I  was  kidnapped.  And  bear  me  out,  now.  Bear  me  out  in 
that.  I  was  kidnapped.  [Another  knock.]  Set  down  there, 
[she  sits]  and  now,  remember.  You  say  a  word  of  the  truth, 
[he  snaps  his  fingers] — your  neck'll  go  like  that ! — Come  in !  Who 
be  there? 

[Enter  Tom  Constable  and  Parson] 

Why,  if  it  bain't  you,  parson.  Come  in.  Come  in!  Why  now, 
if  this  ben't  strange.    What  wonders  I  have  to  tell  'ee. 

Parson 

O  Harrison.  There  have  been  wonders  indeed.  To  think  of 
you  coming  home  safely,  after  all.  Your  wife  is  looking  quite 
white,  even  now.    I  don't  wonder. 

Will  H. 

They  do  say,  as  joy  kills  quicker'n  grief,  parson. 

[48] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

Parson 

You  must  look  after  Mrs.  Harrison.  It  has  been  a  terrible 
time  for  her. 

Tom 
Ah!  it  has. 

Will  H. 

[Recognising  Tom.]  Why,  Tom.  Tom  Constable.  And 
how  be  you,  Tom?  Why,  what  joy  it  be  to  meet  all  the  old 
folk  agen. 

Tom 

Thank  'ee,  sir.    I  be  doing  kindly,  sir. 

Parson 

Yes,  I  brought  Tom  as  a  witness.  I  have  to  write  to  my 
Lord  and  tell  him  everything.  Ah  me,  it  is  a  terrible  tale!  And 
so  you've  come  back? 

Will  H. 

They  do  say  as  seem'  is  believin'. 

Parson 

Just  to  think,  Mrs.  Harrison.  Ah,  Mrs.  Harrison!  And  so 
you've  come  back.  O!  if  you  had  but  come  a  day  sooner.  No, 
not  a  day;  an  hour;  twenty  minutes. 

Will  H. 
We  be  in  God's  hands,  parson. 

Parson 

It  is  the  truth.  And  where' ve  you  been  ?  Tell  me  now.  Tell 
me  everything.     Everything! 

[49] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

Will  H. 
Well,  you'll  think  there's  still  miracles. 

Mrs.  H. 
He  was  kidnapped,  parson;  think  of  that,  kidnapped. 

Will  H. 
By  a  man  on  horseback. 

Mrs.  H. 
By  two  men  on  horseback. 

Parson 
Where  was  this?    Was  this  where  they  found  the  collar? 

Mrs.  H. 

Yes,  by  Battle  Ridge.  They  wore  masks,  and  they  seized 
him. 

Tom 

Why  didn't  'ee  welt  their  nags  ?  I'd  a  welted  en,  afore  they'd 
seized  I. 

Mrs.   H. 

How  could  an  old  man  fight  agenst  two? 

Parson 
Yes, — and  then? 

Will  H. 

Why  then.  .  .  .  Why.  .  .  .  Let  me  see.  Yes.  So 
they  said.  .  .  .  No  a  said  nothing.  .  .  .  They  up  and 
....  How  were  it  now?  [Aside  to  Mrs.  H.]  Help  me 
out  or  I'll  hit  'ee  one. 

[So] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

Mrs.  H. 

They  up  and  set  you  afore  one  of  them.  You  told  me  just 
now. 

Will  H. 

Ah,  they  did.    Afore  one  of  them  they  set  me. 

Mrs.  H. 

And  he'd  been  eating  onions,  parson.  Think  of  that.  The 
one  he  set  afore  had  been  eating  onions.  Think  of  him  noticing 
that.    Think  of  a  man  noticing  that. 

Parson 
Go  on,  go  on. 

Will  H. 

So  they  set  me  afore  one  of  them.  And  he'd  been  eating 
onions.  I  could  never  abide  the  smell.  No.  I  never  could 
abide  onions.     Did  you  ever  know  me  abide  the  smell  of  onions? 

Mrs.  H. 
No,  you  never  did.    You  never  could  abide  onions. 

Will  H. 
They  do  say  as  one  man's  meat  be  another's  poison — 

Parson 
So  then? 

Will  H. 

Why,  all  in  good  time ....  So  then ....  Where  was  I  ? 
So  then.  .  .  .  You  be  in  such  a  hurry .  .  .  .  Why.  .  .  . 
So  then.    .    .     I  wish  'ee'd  not  interrupt. 

[Si] 


MRS.  HARRISON 


Mrs.  H. 


Here,  William  Harrison.  If  you  aren't  a  trial  and  a  torment. 
Do  for  goodness'  sake  let  me  tell  the  story ! 

Tom 
Ah,  do  'ee. 

Parson 
Go  on,  Mrs.  Harrison. 

Mrs.  H. 

So  they  rode  him  off,  oh,  for  miles.  And  then  they  came  to 
a  house,  and  they  locked  him  in  a  room  for  all  the  next  day. 
And  at  night  they  rode  him  off  agen.  And  so  on  for  a  day  or 
two.  And  then  they  came  to  a  ship.  And  there  he  heard  'em 
selling  his  body  for  a  slave.  Selling  his  body  for  a  slave — a 
slave  to  the  Turk ! 

Parson 

How  much  did  they  give  for  you,  William? 

Will  H. 
I  heard  one  of  them  say  thirty  shillin'. 

Parson 

But  that  couldn't  have  been  for  you.  That'd  never  have 
paid  taking  you  across  England. 

Mrs.  H. 
It'd  be  more  like  thirty  pound. 

Will  H. 
Well,  it  might  a  been  pound.    Thirty  pound  then. 

[52] 


MRS.  HARRISON 


Mrs.  H. 


And  then  the  ship  was  at  sea,  and  at  last  they  come  to  the 
Turks'  country,  where  they  sold  him  for  a  slave. 

Parson 
To  think  of  that  now!    A  Campden  man  a  slave  to  the  Turk! 

Tom 

0  Lord !    thy  wonders ! 

Will  H. 

1  was  a  slave  to  the  Turk. 

Parson 

What  work  did  you  do,  William? 

Will  H. 
Why  hard  work.    Hard  work  it  was. 

Mrs.  H. 
He  was  a  slave  to  a  doctor,  parson, — digging  in  the  herb  beds. 

Will  H. 
I  dug  'em  with  a  spade. 

Tom 
I'd  a  liked  to  a  seen  'ee  dig,  master. 

Parson 
And  how  did  you  get  away,  William? 

Will  H. 
Well,  I  got  away,  didn't  I, — though  I  be  old. 

[S3] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

Tom 
Old  and  bold  as  the  saying  is. 

Parson 
Ah,  but  how? 

Mrs.  H. 

His  master  sent  him  to  an  English  merchant  with  a  bottle 
of  elixir.  The  merchant  was  sick.  And  William  said  he  was 
an  Englishman  as  had  been  stole  away.  And  the  merchant 
put  'en  in  a  ship.    And  so  he  came  home. 

Parson 
What  port  did  you  land  at? 

Will  H. 
[Puzzled.]    It  was  Norfolk,  I  do  think. 

Mrs.  H. 

Norfolk  my  grandmother!  Portsmouth  don't  I  keep  telling 
you.  [To  Parson.]  I  think  my  man  would  make  a  saint  cross. 
Portsmouth,  Will.    Norfolk's  in  France. 

Will  H. 

Ah,  Portsmouth.  I  ben't  no  learned  astronomer.  One  place 
be  like  another  to  me.  I  don't  hold  with  these  new  fangled 
towns.    I  been  a  slave  to  the  Turk.    Give  I  Campden. 

Tom 
0,  the  wonders  of  the  Lord ! 

Parson 
Well,  Will;  you  ought  to  write  a  book. 

[Ml 


MRS.  HARRISON 


Will  H. 


I  don't  know  about  any  book.  The  Christian  religion's  book 
enough.    There's  a  book.    All  else  is  sin,  books  is. 

Tom 
Ah! 

Parson 

Now,  Will.  I  want  you  to  come  up  to  the  church  with  me 
to  return  thanks  for  your  restoration,  and  ask  His  mercy  for 
our  sins,  and  for  the  deaths  of  his  innocents,  the  Perrys. 

Will  H. 
Ah,  that  I  will,  Parson.    [They  turn  to  go.] 

Parson 
Come,  Mrs.  Harrison. 

Mrs.  H. 

I  be  feeling  overcome,  Parson,  I'll  stay  here  and  read  the 
Bible,  while  you  prays. 

Parson 

You  must  take  care  of  yourself,  Mrs.  Harrison.  You  must 
look  after  your  wife,  William.    She  has  had  a  grievous  trial. 

Will  H. 
She'll  pull  round,  you'll  find.    Joy  cometh  in  the  morning. 

Mrs.  H. 
Have  I  been  a  good  wife  to  you,  Will  ? 

Parson 
She's  been  overwrought,  William. 

l55l 


MRS.  HARRISON 

Mrs.  H. 
Have  I  been  a  good  wife  to  you,  Will? 

Will  H. 

Now  don't  'ee  fuss.  Set  quiet.  She'll  be  all  right;  she  just 
needs  letting  alone  a  while.  Come,  parson,  us'll  just  step  to 
church.    [Exit  Parson  and  Will  H.    Tom  holds  door  for  them.] 

Mrs.  H. 
[As  Tom  goes.]    Tom! 

Tom 
Yes,  Mrs.  Harrison? 

Mrs.  H. 
Come  here,  Tom.    [Tom  goes  to  table.] 


Mrs.  H. 

Tom 
Mrs.  H. 

Tom 


Reach  me  the  Bible. 

Here  it  be,  miss. 

Now,  Tom. 

Yes,  Mrs.  Harrison. 

Mrs.  H. 
You  know  them  little  girls  of  Dick  Perry's? 

Tom 

Ay! 

Mrs.  R. 

You'll  look  after  them  little  girls,  Tom? 

[56] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

Tom 
I  said  I'd  do.    And  I  will  do. 

Mrs.  H. 
You'll  not  let  folk  say  as  their  daddy  were  hung? 

Tom 

Pll  break  their  heads  as  says  it.  They'll  not  say  it  twice,  if 
they  says  it  once. 

Mrs.  H. 

You'll  swear  that,  Tom,  swear  it  on  the  Bible. 

Tom 
There  be'n't  no  call  to  swear,  mum.    You  knows  me,  I  hope. 

Mrs.  H. 

Swear  it.  Swear  you'll  look  after  'em.  Whatever  hap- 
pens. .  .  . 

Tom 
What  I  can  do  I'll  do. 

Mrs.  H. 

[Going  to  a  drawer.]  This  be  for  you,  Tom,  to  spend  for  them 
little  girls.  It  be  what  I  got  by  my  hens.  It  be  near  five  pound 
in  silver. 

Tom 

I  don't  ask  no  money,  I  be  glad  to  do  a  kindness.  I  don't 
ask  no  money. 

Mrs.  H. 

Take  it.  Take  it,  I  say!  And  may  the  Lord  prosper  you 
for  all  you  do  for  them  poor  little  maids.    Look  after  'em,  Tom. 

[S7l 


MRS.  HARRISON 

Tom 
I'll  look  after  'em,  mum. 

Mrs.  H. 
Now  go,  Tom.    I  be  all-to  frushed  and  of  a  frammock. 

Tom 
Can  I  get  Jee  anything? 

Mrs.  H. 
No,  Tom.     Now  'ee  go. 

Tom 
Good  day  to  'ee,  mum. 

Mrs.  H. 
God  save  'ee,  Tom. 

[Exit  Tom] 

Mrs.  H. 

I  been  wife  to  a  murderer.  ...  I  been  wife  to  a  murderer.  .  .  . 
I've  been  to  bed  with  a  man  as  done  murder;  and  I've  helped  un 
clear  after.  .  .  .  [She  rocks  in  her  chair;  then  gets  up  and  goes 
to  cupboard.]  But  never  no  more,  William  Harrison,  you've 
had  your  last  of  me.  .  .  .  [She  opens  cupboard.]  I  be  the  low- 
est of  the  low.  O  Lord,  I  be  the  lowest  of  the  low.  ...  I  feel 
as  I'd  been  spat  on.  [She  rummages  among  bottles.]  But  never 
no  more,  William  Harrison.  .  .  .  God  have  mercy  on  a  sinful 
woman.  .  .  .  You've  had  your  last  of  me,  William  Harrison. 
You  can  go  to  your  Jennies,  you  can.  .  .  .  [She  takes  out  a 
paper.]  This  is  it.  This  is  it, — is  the  cure.  I  bought  it  for  the 
rattens  as  ate  my  chicks.  What'll  kill  rattens'll  kill  folk.  Where 
be  my  thimble?  [She  pours  powder  into  thimble  and  drinks.] 
Ugh!  it  be  bitter!    [She  pours  again  and  drinks.]    Ugh!    [She 

[58] 


MRS.  HARRISON 

puts  thimble  and  paper  into  fire.  The  fire  spurts  up.]  Ah,  pretty 
it  be!  [She  goes  to  table  and  begins  to  read  the  Bible:  she  spells 
it  out  slowly.] 

"But  when  Jesus  saw  it,  he  was  much  displeased,  and  said 
unto  them :  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me.  Suffer 
the  little  children  to  come  unto  me."  Us  be  little  children — 
"And  forbid  them  not.".  .  .  It  be  a  long  road  for  poor 
folk.  ...    It  be  a  cold  road  for  us,  poor  children.  .  .  .    [dies]. 

THE  END 


[59] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 
A  PLAY  IN  ONE  ACT 

(From  a  Tale  in  the  Laxdaelasaga) 


PERSONS 


Thord  Goddi 
Thorolf 
Ingiald 
Soldiers 
Vigdis  Goddi 


A  Farmer 

A  Lord 

Adherents  of  Ingiald 

Wife  of  Thord 


SCENE 


Iceland 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Scene  :  A  room.    A  chest  used  as  a  bench.    A  table ;  etc.    Vigdis 
embroidering  a  cloth. 

Vigdis 
[Singing.] 

My  love  is  drowned  in  the  Lowlands, 

Away.    Heigho. 
My  love  is  drowned  in  the  Lowlands, 
Lowlands  no  more. 

[Enter  Thord  Goddi] 
Well,  Thord.    I  hope  you  had  a  good  market. 
[Sings.] 

His  hair  is  cold  with  the  seaweed, 

Away.    Heigho. 
His  hair  is  cold  with  the  seaweed, 
Lowlands  no  more. 

Come  and  sit  down  by  the  fire,  won't  you  ? 

[Sings.] 

O  my  love  is  drowned  in  the  Lowlands, 
Away 

Thord 
For  heaven's  sake,  stop  it. 

Vigdis 
Stop  what? 

Thord 
That  caterwauling. 

[63] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 
VlGDIS 

Caterwauling? 

Thord 

I'm  not  going  to  have  that  howling  when  I've  got  a  head- 
ache  

Vigdis 

I'm  sorry  I  sang  when  you  had  a  headache.     I  didn't  know. 

Thord 
I've  always  got  a  headache. 

Vigdis 
I'm  sorry,  Thord. 

Thord 

O,  don't  "sorry"  me.    If  you're  so  sorry  as  all  that  there'd 
have  been  a  nice  supper  ready.    But  there.    It's  always  the  way. 

Vigdis 
Let  me  get  you  your  supper. 

Thord 

O,  I  don't  want  it  now,  thanks.     I  couldn't  eat  it.     Why 
wasn't  it  ready  for  me,  the  moment  I  came  in? 

Vigdis 
But,  Thord.    My  dear  man. 

Thord 

How  many  more  times  am  I  to  tell  you  I  won't  be  "my 
deared"  when  I've  a  headache? 

[64] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

ViGDis 
I'm  sorry,  Thord. 

Thord 

If  you  knew  how  much  it  aggravated.    But  there.    You  only 
do  it  to  drive  me  mad. 

Vigdis 
I  don't,  Thord. 

Thord 

Contradict   me.      Do.      That's    right.      Contradict   me.      I 
suppose  you'll  say  next But  there,  it's  always  the  way. 

Vigdis 
Thord! 

Thord 

Now,  why  wasn't  supper  ready  the  moment  I  came  in  ? 

Vigdis 

You  said  you'd  be  home  late,  Thord,  and  that  supper  wasn't 
to  be  till  half-past  seven. 

Thord 
You  might  have  known  the  fair  would  be  a  bad  one. 

Vigdis 
Was  the  fair  a  bad  one? 

Thord 
O,  use  your  sense.     Use  your  sense,  woman. 

Vidgis 
But  I  do,  Thord. 

[6S  1 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


Thord 


Would  I  be  here  at  this  time  if  the  fair  had  been  a  good  one? 
You  know  perfectly  well  I  shouldn't. 

Vigdis 
I'm  so  sorry,  Thord. 

Thord 

[Growling.]     Yes,  so  that  you  might  have  more  money  to 
spend  on  jewellery.    [He  sits  down.]    I'm  tired. 

Vigdis 

Let  me  help  you  pull  your  boots  off.     [She  pulls  a  boot  and 
drops  it.] 

Thord 

O,  for  Heaven's  sake. 

Didn't  I  tell  you  I'd  got  a  headache?     But  there.    No,  I'll 
take  off  the  other  myself.    I'm  tired  to  death. 

Vigdis 

Let  me  give  you  a  nip  of  brandy. 

Thord 

Brandy?    With  a  headache?    You  know  brandy  nearly  kills 
me.    Now  do  for  Heaven's  sake  leave  me  alone. 

Vigdis 

You're  tired,  Thord.    You're  tired.    Lie  down  on  the  chest, 
and  rest  till  supper.    You're  tired  to  death. 

Thord 

I  wouldn't  be  tired  if  I  wasn't  driven  half  mad  by  your  tongue. 
A  plague  take  all  wives  and  all  fairs. 

[66] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

VlGDIS 
Tell  me  about  the  fair,  Thord,  if  you're  not  too  tired. 

Thord 
I've  already  told  you  about  the  fair. 

Vigdis 
Were  there  many  people? 

Thord 

Enough  to  fill  a  graveyard.    I'd  be  glad  to  have  the  burying 
of  some  of  them. 

Vigdis 
What's  the  news  ? 

Thord 

News?    What  d'ye  want  with  news? 

Vigdis 

But  I  like  to  hear  what's  going  on.     What  were  they  talk- 
ing of? 

Thord 

What  were  who  talking  of? 

Vigdis 
The  people  at  the  fair. 

Thord 

None  of  their  business.    That's  what  they  were  talking  of. 
They  were  talking  of  a  murder. 

Vigdis 
A  murder! 

[67] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


Thord 


[Shouting.]    A  murder.    Can't  you  pay  attention  when  I'm 
talking  to  you  ?    I  said  a  murder.    Why  don't  you  listen  ? 

Vigdis 
Who  has  been  murdered? 

Thord 
I  didn't  say  anyone  had  been  murdered. 

Vigdis 

But  you  said 

Thord 

But  I  said  nothing  of  the  sort.    There  was  a  fight  down  on 
the  beach  and  a  man  was  killed. 

Vigdis 
What  man? 

Thord 

That  big  swaggering  fellow  Hall. 

Vigdis 
Hall?    Brother  of  Ingiald? 

Thord 
Yes.    Brother  of  Ingiald.    A  lout  he  was,  too. 

Vigdis 
Who  killed  him? 

Thord 

Does  it  matter  to  you  who  killed  him? 

[68] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

VlGDIS 
No.    Only  I  would  like  to  know. 

Thord 

You're  always  wanting  to  know.  You  want  to  know  too 
much.    What  was  Hall  to  you? 

Vigdis 

Nothing.  My  cousin  was  his  partner.  That's  all  I  know 
about  him.  And  they  used  to  quarrel  all  day,  as  though  they 
were  man  and  wife. 

Thord 

I  suppose  that's  meant  for  me.  Well,  I  don't  know  who  killed 
him.    But  I  know  this. 

Vigdis 
What? 

Thord 

I  pity  the  man  who  did  it. 

Vigdis 
Why? 

Thord 

Have  you  any  sense  at  all,  woman? 

Vigdis 
I  don't  see  why  he  should  be  pitied. 

Thord 

Well,  I  do.  D'you  suppose  a  great  man  like  Ingiald  will 
let  his  brother's  murderer  escape? 

[69] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 
VlGDIS 

But  you  said  it  was  a  fight  on  the  beach. 

Thord 

I  said.  I  said.  I  said.  Nag.  Nag.  Nag.  Even  if  it  were, 
d'you  suppose  a  man  like  Ingiald  would  let  the  man  escape? 
Ingiald'll  hunt  him  down.    That  murderer's  a  doomed  man. 

Vigdis 
Poor  fellow,  I  say. 

Thord 
Serve  him  right,  I  say.    Serve  him  right. 

Vigdis 
I  wonder  who  it  was. 

Thord 
It  isn't  known  who  it  was.    Two  or  three  are  suspected. 

Vigdis 
I  hope  it  wasn't  cousin  Thorolf. 

Thord 
Well,  if  it  was  he  must  take  the  consequences. 

Vigdis 

That  man  Hall  was  a  sad  man  to  work  with.  I  hate  to  speak 
ill  of  a  dead  man;  but  he  had  a  bad  name. 

Thord 
He  was  a  drunken  boor. 

[70] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

VlGDIS 
He  went  for  Thorolf  with  an  axe  once. 

Thord 

Well,  I  pity  the  man  who  went  for  him  with  an  axe.  Is  supper 
ever  going  to  come  at  all  ?    Or  am  I  to  stay  talking  here  all  night  ? 

Vigdis 

Won't  you  go  in  and  lie  down,  Thord  ?  Supper  will  be  ready 
in  a  moment. 

Thord 

How  can  I  go  in  and  lie  down  ?  You  know  perfectly  well  Fve 
got  to  see  to  the  chores.    I  can't  trust  the  hired  men. 

Vigdis 
I'll  run  out  and  see  to  the  chores,  Thord. 

Thord 

You  ?  I  can't  trust  you  to  get  supper,  let  alone  do  the  chores. 
No.  I  must  sacrifice  myself.  Fve  got  a  headache  and  I'm  half 
dead.  But  there,  it's  always  the  way.  I  must  do  a  thing  myself 
if  I  want  it  done.    Give  me  my  boots. 

Vigdis 
Let  me  go,  Thord.    I'll  see  the  cows  driven  in  and  milked. 

Thord 

Give — me — my — boots.  Don't  I  tell  you?  Don't  tell  me 
what  you'll  do  and  what  you'll  not  do.  There  [puts  on  boots], 
I  thought  when  I  came  in  I'd  have  time  to  rest  myself.     But 

[71] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

there.  It's  always  the  way.  [Turns  to  go  out.]  What  are  you 
glowering  there  for?  Go — and — get — the  supper  ready.  When 
you've  worn  me  to  my  grave  I  suppose  you'll  be  glad.  You  do 
make  me  so  mad. 

Vigdis 
I'll  have  supper  directly,  Thord. 

Thord 

You  do  make  me  so  mad.  But  there.  It's  always  the  way. 
[He  goes  out.] 

Vigdis 

It's  a  pity  we've  no  child,  Thord  and  I.  They  say  a  child 
is  a  great  sweetener  in  a  house.  If  we'd  a  child,  perhaps  he 
wouldn't  take  on  so.  Ah  well.  It  wasn't  like  this  when  we 
were  courting.  I  must  get  this  table  clear.  If  I'd  had  a  child 
now,  he'd  have  been  different.  That's  what  a  wife  must  expect. 
Nothing  but  "O  my  headache,"  and  "O  if  I'm  not  tired."  I 
only  wanted  to  hear  about  the  murder.  It's  not  so  often  we 
get  a  murder  to  talk  about.  The  way  he  talks  you'd  think  we 
had  one  every  day.  So  Hall  is  murdered.  I  never  liked  that 
man.  I  wonder  who  killed  him.  Well.  There's  one  comfort. 
My  cousin  Thorolf  wouldn't  go  for  to  kill  a  man.  Not  even 
Hall,  he  wouldn't.  He  wouldn't  kill  a  fly,  my  cousin  Thorolf 
wouldn't.  He's  like  a  blessed  babe.  [The  door  at  the  back  is 
knocked  violently.]     Bless  us  and  save  us. 

Voice 
Let  me  in.    Let  me  in.    Vigdis.    Thord. 

Vigdis 
Who's  there? 

[72I 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Voice 
Open.    Open.     For  GocTs  sake  let  me  in. 

Vigdis 
Enter.    If  you  be  of  God. 

Voice 
Open. 

Vigdis 

[Running  to  door.]    Come  in.    Who's  there? 

[Enter  Thorolf] 

Thorolf.     Cousin  Thorolf.     How  are  you? 

Thorolf 
Stand  back.     Don't  kiss  me. 

Vigdis 
What's  the  matter,  Thorolf? 

Thorolf 
Stand  back.    You  keep  your  hands  off. 

Vigdis 
But  I'm  your  cousin,  Thorolf. 

Thorolf 

Yes.    But  perhaps  you  won't  be  quite  so  glad  to  be  my  cousin 
when  you  hear  the  news. 

Vigdis 
What  news,  Thorolf? 

[73 1 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thorolf 
About  Hall. 

Vigdis 
He's  dead.    What  d'ye  mean,  Thorolf? 

Thorolf 
I  killed  him,  Vigdis. 

Vigdis 
You,  Thorolf? 

Thorolf 

He  cheated  me.  O,  but  I  can't  go  into  that.  So  we  fought, 
and  I  killed  him.  It  was  a  fair  fight.  I  didn't  want  to  kill 
him,  God  knows. 

Vigdis 

Men  have  no  sense  when  they  have  swords  in  their  hands. 

Thorolf 
It  was  a  fair  fight. 

Vigdis 

I'm  not  blaming  you,  Thorolf.  It  seems  men  must  kill  each 
other  from  time  to  time.    But  what  are  you  going  to  do  now? 

Thorolf 
What  indeed? 

Vigdis 

You  know  what  it  means.  You  must  know  what  it  means. 
Do  they  know  you  did  it? 

Thorolf 
Ingiald  will  know  by  this. 

[74] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 
VlGDIS 

But  you  know  what  Ingiald  is.  He'll  be  after  you  to-night, 
now.    Now.    What  will  you  do?    What  will  you  do,  Thorolf? 

Thorolf 
You're  my  cousin,  Vigdis  ? 

Vigdis 
Of  course  I'm  your  cousin. 

Thorolf 

You  wouldn't  cast  me  off.  You  don't  think  worse  of  me. 
I  mean,  it  was  a  fair  fight.    It  was  fair  and  square. 

Vigdis 

Of  course  I  won't  cast  you  off.  You're  my  cousin.  Men  have 
no  sense  at  any  time.  But  when  they  have  swords  in  their 
hands — it  might  happen  to  anyone. 

Thorolf 
Vigdis.    Will  you  stand  by  me? 

Vigdis 

You're  my  cousin,  Thorolf.  There's  my  hand.  But  don't 
waste  time  like  this.  Where  will  you  hide?  Who  can  shelter 
you  against  Ingiald?  The  King  himself  could  hardly  do  it. 
It's  death  to  shelter  you.  Where  will  you  go  ?  Think.  Think. 
Where  will  you  go? 

Thorolf 
I  was  thinking  perhaps  you  would  shelter  me. 

[75] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

VlGDIS 

I,  Thorolf  ? 

Thorolf 
You  and  Thord. 

Vigdis 
And  Thord? 

Thorolf 

I  was  thinking  perhaps  you  would. 

Vigdis 
Against  Ingiald? 

Thorolf 

Until  I  could  get  a  ship.    Only  till  I  could  get  a  ship. 

Vigdis 
Against  a  man  like  Ingiald? 

Thorolf 
I  know  it's  a  risk,  dear.    I  know  it's  a  risk. 

Vigdis 
You  know,  Thorolf,  my  man  Thord  isn't  much  of  a  warrior. 

Thorolf 

It  wouldn't  be  for  long,  dear.     If  I  could  lie  low  a  night  or 

two 

Vigdis 

What  should  we  be,  against  Ingiald? 

Thorolf 
If  we  could  just  put  him  off  the  track,  dear,  then  I  could 

[76] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

slip  down  to  Broadfirth  and  get  a  ship.     It  would  only  be  a 
night  or  two. 

VlGDIS 

Thord  is  Thord.  And  I'm  only  a  woman,  and  women  aren't 
much  good  in  a  case  of  this  sort. 

Thorolf 
Let  me  stay,  Vigdis.    Will  you  ? 

Vigdis 
I  wish  I  could  think  of  a  plan. 

Thorolf 
Where  else  can  I  go? 

Vigdis 

Go?  You  won't  go  anywhere.  You'll  just  stay  here,  where 
you  are.  Don't  worry  yourself  about  that.  It's  Ingiald  and 
Thord  I'm  thinking  of. 

Thorolf 

My  God,  Vigdis,  you're  good.    I'll  kiss  you  for  that. 

Vigdis 

Oh,  none  of  your  nonsense,  now.  This  is  no  kissing  matter. 
No,  you  can't  stay  in  here.  Let  go  my  hand,  or  I'll  box  your 
ears.  Come  this  way,  now.  I'll  shut  you  up  in  the  sheepfold. 
Quickly,  now,  before  my  husband  comes.  [Goes  out  at  side 
door.] 

Thorolf 

I've  only  got  to  put  Ingiald  off  the  track,  dear.  Old  Hrut 
will  get  me  a  ship. 

[77] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 
VlGDIS 

Put  Ingiald  off  the  track  first,  my  friend.  We'll  think  of 
the  ship  later.    Come  along.    [Exeunt.] 

[The  other  side  door  opens,  and  re-enter  Thord.] 

Thord 

Vigdis.  Vigdis.  Is  supper  ready  yet?  Now  if  that  isn't 
too  bad.  What's  the  woman  thinking  of?  Vigdis,  I  say.  It's 
not  enough  that  I  have  a  headache,  and  get  fairly  fratted  to 
death,  but  I'm  to  be  kept  waiting  for  my  supper.  Vigdis. 
Vigdis,  I  say.    [Enter  Vigdis.] 

Vigdis 
What  is  it,  Thord? 

Thord 

What  is  it?  Supper.  Where's  supper?  Why  on  earth  isn't 
supper  ready? 

Vigdis 

I've  had  a  visitor,  Thord.    A  guest. 

Thord 
A  guest,  eh.    Who  invited  him? 

Vigdis 
No  one  invited  him.    He's  a  sort  of  a  relation  of  mine. 

Thord 
So  it  is  a  he.    How  long  am  I  to  be  tortured  with  him  ? 

Vigdis 
I'd  like  him  to  stay  for  some  time.    If  you  don't  mind,  Thord. 

[78] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 

You  know  I  mind.  You  know  as  well  as  I  do  I  can't  abide 
strangers  in  the  house.  They  make  this  house  just  like  an  inn. 
Except  that  they  never  pay  for  what  they  have.  I  will  not  put 
up  with  it.  It's  enough  that  I'm  half  mad  with  headache, 
but  I  must  have  a  stranger  in  the  house.  But  there.  It's 
always  the  way.    Who  is  this  stranger?    Is  he  respectable? 

Vigdis 
He's  a  sort  of  relation  of  mine.    I  told  you  just  now. 

Thord 

A  relation.  If  it  had  been  a  stranger  I  wouldn't  have  minded; 
but  to  have  a  relation.  And  I  shall  have  to  be  civil  to  him. 
Vigdis,  I  do  think  you  might  have  had  a  little  thought  of  me. 
But  there.  You  think  of  no  one  but  yourself.  It's  always 
the  way  with  you  women. 

Vigdis 
It  won't  be  for  long,  Thord. 

Thord 

I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Vigdis.  If  he's  respectable  he  may 
stay  the  night  and  go  on  before  breakfast.  If  he's  one  of  these 
rowdy  fellows,  or  if  he's  in  trouble,  I'll  not  have  him  near  the 
place.    I'll  put  the  dogs  on  him  myself. 

Vigdis 

You  cannot,  Thord.  I've  already  taken  him  in.  I  can't 
go  back  on  my  word.    I've  promised  him  shelter  now. 

[79] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
Shelter? 

VlGDIS 

You  see  he's  in  trouble. 

Thord 
What  trouble?    Who  is  he,  once  for  all? 

Vigdis 
Cousin  Thorolf. 

Thord 

Thorolf!    What's  he  been  doing?    He's  an  idle  blackguard, 
Thorolf. 

Vigdis 
He's  not. 

Thord 

He  is,  I  say.    Don't  contradict.    What's  he  been  doing? 

Vigdis 
There  was ....  It  was ....  It  was  a  fair  fight,  Thord. 

Thord 
A — fair — fight.    You — don't — mean 

Vigdis 
Down  on  the  beach. 

Thord 

Not.    ...  No.    ...  Not  Hall? 

Vigdis 
Yes.    He  killed  Hall. 

[80] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
Ingiald's  brother. 

Vigdis 
Ingialds'  brother. 

Thord 

And  you've  been  such  a  fool  as  to  take  him  in.  To  take  in 
Hall's  murderer.    Ingiald's  brother's  murderer. 

Vigdis 
It  was  a  fair  fight,  Thord. 

Thord 

It — was — a — fair  fight.  A — fair — fight.  Ingiald's  brother. 
A  fair  fight. 

Vigdis 
They  fought  with  swords. 

Thord 

In  my  house.  Here.  Ingiald's  brother's  murderer.  And 
you've  let  him  in.    Where  is  he? 

Vigdis 

In  the  sheep-fold  at  the  back  of  the  house,  for  the  present. 
That's  a  good  place.     They'd  never  look  among  the  sheep. 

Thord 

My  head  is  like  the  seven  mills  of  Milltown.  In  my  house. 
O,  my  head.  O  miserable  man.  It'll  be  my  death.  It's  not 
enough  that  I  must  have  a  headache,  and  come  home  tired 
out,  but  I  must  have  Ingiald  down  on  me.  He'll  burn  the 
house.     He  will.     He  will.     I  know  Ingiald.     He'll  burn  the 

[81] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

house.  He's  sure  to  find  out.  And  if  he  doesn't  burn  the 
house  he'll  put  a  blood-fine  on  me.  He'll  fine  me  a  flock  of 
sheep.  It's  not  enough  that  I'm  fratted  to  death  and  find  no 
supper  ready,  but  I  must  lose  my  cattle  and  be  murdered  in 
my  bed.    But  there,  it's  always  the  way. 

Vigdis 
You'll  be  nothing  of  the  sort.     Have  pity  on  poor  Thorolf. 

Thord 

Pity.  Let  poor  Thorolf  show  a  little  pity  on  me.  I'm  a  ruined 
man.  Ingiald  will  drag  me  up  and  down  by  the  hair.  He'll  hit 
me  in  the  ribs  with  his  great  fists.  He  will.  He  will.  I  know 
Ingiald.  And  you  go  and  take  in  a  murderer.  A  murderer.  If 
it  had  been  a  murderer  of  some  common  man  I  wouldn't  have 
minded.     But  the  murderer  of  Ingiald's  brother. 

Vigdis 

I  tell  you  it  was  not  a  murder.  Thorolf's  no  murderer.  He's 
like  a  woman  in  most  things,  Thorolf  is.  I  tell  you  it  was  not  a 
murder.     It  was  a  fair  fight. 

Thord 

So  Ingiald'll  say.  Yes,  he'll  say.  I'll  take  your  sheep,  he'll 
say.  And  them  nice  cows  too,  Thord,  he'll  say.  It  was  a  nice 
fair  fight,  he'll  say,  so  now  I'll  burn  you  in  your  bed.  I  know 
Ingiald.    Ahoo.    Ahoo. 

Vigdis 

Well.  I  wouldn't  be  a  cry  baby.  There's  worse  things  than 
being  burned  in  our  beds.  Come.  Be  a  man,  Thord.  One 
would  think  you  were  afraid  of  dying. 

[82] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
O,  hold  your  nagging  tongue,  for  God's  sake.    Ahoo.    Ahoo. 

Vigdis 

It  will  all  come  right,  Thord.  Look.  I'll  get  you  some  nice 
supper. 

Thord 

You'll  drive  me  mad  in  another  minute.  Supper,  Ingiald's 
knife'll  be  the  only  supper  I  shall  have.  Hold  your  nagging 
tongue,  and  let  me  die  in  peace. 


Vigdis 

It's  very  likely  that  we'll  have  Ingiald  here  before  long.  He's 
not  a  man  to  wait  on  the  road.  He  comes  like  an  eagle,  Ingiald 
does. 

Thord 

O  what  shall  I  do?    What  shall  I  do? 

Vigdis 

Do?  Put  a  bold  face  on  it.  There's  no  danger  where  there's 
no  fear.    Look  him  in  the  face  and  tell  him  to  walk  out  of  here. 

Thord 

He  may  be  coming  now.  Look  out  at  the  door,  Vigdis.  Is  he 
coming  ? 

Vigdis 

There's  someone  coming.  It's  a  party  of  men.  A  dozen, 
quite. 

Thord 

O,  I'm  not  fit  to  die.    I'm  not. 

[83] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 
VlGDIS 

Be  a  man.  They're  coming  quickly.  They'll  be  here  in  a 
minute.  Yes.  It's  Ingiald.  There's  his  red  cloak.  He's  walk- 
ing ahead  of  the  rest.    Be  a  man  now,  Thord.    It'll  be  all  right. 

Thord 
O!    O! 

VlGDIS 

Can  you  think  of  any  better  plan  than  the  sheep-fold  ? 

Thord 
O! 

VlGDIS 

O,  why  didn't  I  marry  a  man  ?  You  don't  think  he'd  look  in 
the  sheep-fold,  with  all  the  sheep  in  it?    I'm  sure  he  wouldn't. 

Thord 

O,  Thorolf's  all  right.  It's  myself  I'm  thinking  of.  It's  my- 
self.   O! 

VlGDIS 

I  wonder  you  aren't  ashamed. 

Thord 

I  was  getting  on  so  well.  I'd  have  been  able  to  buy  Rapp's 
field  next  year 

VlGDIS 

Think  of  poor  Thorolf.  Brace  up,  man.  Ingiald'll  suspect 
at  once  if  he  sees  you  like  that.  What's  your  life?  What's  my 
life?    It's  our  guest's  life  that  matters. 

[84] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


Thord 


An  idle  vagrant's  life  better  than  mine?  If  it  had  been  the 
King,  now. 

Vigdis 

Thord,  brace  yourself.  ThorolPs  safe  in  the  sheep-fold. 
Ingiald  can  prove  nothing.  Your  guest's  life  depends  on  the 
way  you  look.  Don't  flop  there  like  a  done-out  old  gather-up 
of  a  bachelor.  Swell  your  chest  out.  Put  a  scowl  on,  like  a 
Viking.     That's  better.     Here  they  are. 

[A  knock  at  the  door.] 

Thord 
O,  I'm  a  dead  man. 

Vigdis 
0,  I  could  shake  you.     For  ThorolPs  sake,  perk  yourself. 

[A  knock.] 
Come  in.    Go  and  open  the  door,  Thord. 

Thord 
I  can't.    How  can  you  ask  me  to  open  the  door? 
[A  knock.] 

Vigdis 
Go  on,  Thord.     Go.     Open,  man. 

Thord 

Vigdis.  You  don't  mind.  You  open.  Your  nerves  aren't 
like  mine. 

Vigdis 

Quick,  Thord.    It's  for  the  host  to  open. 

[85] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Voices 
Open  within  there.    Open  in  the  name  of  the  law. 

Vigdis 
I  must  open,  then.     [Goes  to  the  door.}     Come  in,  come  in. 
[Enter  Ingiald  and  Men-at-arms] 

Ingiald 
God  save  all  here.    Thank  you,  Vigdis. 

Vigdis 
My  man's  not  quite  himself,  to-night,  Lord  Ingiald. 

Ingiald 
I'm  sorrry  to  hear  that.    What  pin  pricks  now,  Thord? 

Thord 
Ah.     Oh. 

Ingiald 

[Looking  keenly  at  both  of  them.]  I  should  have  thought  life 
was  pretty  quiet  up  here.     No  fighting.     No  gambling.     No 

anxiety 

Vigdis 

My  man  gets  run  down,  Lord  Ingiald.  It's  going  to  these 
fairs  that  does  it.  I've  known  him  come  home  in  a  way  of  speak- 
ing, and  he'd  be  all  cold,  like  a  dead  man.  It's  the  nerves  and 
that  on  the  brain.  [A  pause.]  What  could  I  do  for  you,  Lord 
Ingiald?  Will  you  not  sit  down?  Is  there  anything  you  would 
like  to  take?  It's  not  often  we  see  you  up  here.  Why,  I  don't 
think  I've  seen  you,  not  since  last  October  twelve  month. 

[86] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


Ingiald 


No.  I  daresay  not.  [He  goes  over  to  Thord  and  bangs  him 
on  the  shoulder.] 

Thord 

Ow.    What  is  it,  Ingiald?    Don't. 

Ingiald 
I  want  to  have  a  talk  with  you,  my  friend. 

Thord 
A — a  talk.    O  yes.    Yes,  that.    Yes.    Very  nice. 

Ingiald 

[To  his  men.]  Go  out  and  stand  by  the  door.  Don't  budge 
till  I  tell  you. 

Men 
Ay,  ay,  sir. 

[Exeunt] 

VlGDIS 

Wouldn't  your  men  be  pleased  to  take  a  drop  of  something? 
You've  surely  not  come  all  the  way  from  Sheep  Isles.  What  is 
it  we  could  do  for  you,  Lord  Ingiald?  Perhaps  you  would  let 
me  hear  it.  My  man's  not  himself  to-night.  Were  you  wanting 
any  hands  to  help  get  your  harvest  in?    Tell  me  what  it  is. 

Ingiald 
Thank  you,  Vigdis.    I  want  to  have  a  talk  with  Thord,  here. 

Thord 
I — I'm  so  ill,  Ingiald.    It's  the  weather.    Vigdis  will  do  any 

[871 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

business.     My  head.     My  head  is  bad.     I'm  a  martyr  to  my 
head  in  wet  weather. 

Ingiald 

I  know  what  it  is.  My  own  head  gives  me  tortures.  But 
I  must  have  a  talk  with  you.  Perhaps  you  would  ask  your 
wife  to  mull  me  a  little  ale? 

Vigdis 
You  must  let  me  mull  it  in  here,  then.    The  kitchen  fire's  out. 

Ingiald 

I  should  be  delighted;  but  my  nerves  can't  bear  the  smell 
of  ale  being  mulled.  It  always  upsets  me.  [To  Thord.]  Per- 
haps you  would  ask  your  wife  to — to  look  at  the  sunset.  Most 
beautiful  sunset,, outside. 

Vigdis 
Yes,  we  were  looking  at  it  this  last  half  hour. 

Ingiald 

I  see.  Well.  Vigdis.  I  must  talk  to  Thord  here  privately. 
Will  you  go  into  the  next  room?    I  won't  keep  you  long. 

Vigdis 

Certainly,  Lord  Ingiald.  Now,  I  won't  have  you  telling  my 
man  about  any  of  those  naughty  baggages  at  Reykjavik.  He 
knows  quite  enough,  already. 

Ingiald 

I  won't  mention  a  single  baggage.  [He  calls  to  a  Soldier.] 
Erik,  just  atttend  the  lady  for  a  moment.  [Aside  to  Soldier.] 
See  she  doesn't  leave  the  room. 

[88] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


VlGDIS 


I  know  you  men.  [She  tries  to  catch  Thord's  eye.]  I'll  make 
him  repeat  every  word  you  say.     [She  goes  out  unconcernedly.] 

Ingiald 

[Aside.]  Well.  If  you're  not  a  wonder.  [Sharply.]  Now, 
Thord,  my  friend,  I've  got  only  one  thing  to  say  to  you.  Where's 
Thorolf? 

Thord 
Thorolf. 

Ingiald 
Well? 

Thord 

Which  Thorolf  would  that  be? 

Ingiald 
You  know  quite  well  which  Thorolf. 

Thord 

O,  you  mean  old  Thorolf  of  the  Ridge  ?    Ah  yes.    A  fat  man. 

He 

Ingiald 
Now,  Thord.    [Glares  at  him.] 

Thord 

O,  young  Thorolf.  Koll  o'  Dales'  lad.  He  goes  to  school, 
now. 

Ingiald 

[Rapping  the  table.]    Thord. 

Thord 
Don't,  Ingiald.    You  put  a  fellow  out  so. 

[89] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Ingiald 
Where's  Thorolf  ?    Vigdis's  cousin.    Your  cousin,  Thorolf. 

Thord 
Ha,  ha,  ha!     That  Thorolf.    Yes.    An  idle  blackguard.    Yes. 

Ingiald 
Yes.    That  Thorolf.    Where  is  he? 

Thord 
I've  not  seen  him,  Ingiald. 

Ingiald 
I  suppose  you've  not  heard  about  him,  either? 

Thord 
No. 

Ingiald 
Not?    Sure? 

Thord 
No.    I  mean  yes.    Of  course  Fve  heard  about  him. 

Ingiald 
About  what  he  has  done  to-day? 

Thord 
I  didn't  know  he  did  anything  to-day. 

Ingiald 

You  heard  about  my  brother? 

[90I 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 

Your  poor  brother,  Hall?    Yes,  I  was  truly  grieved.    I  was 
quite  upset. 

Ingiald 
That's  what  Thorolf  did. 

Thord 
Thorolf? 

Ingiald 
Now  where  is  he? 

Thord 
Your  brother? 

Ingiald 

I  see.    You  won't  answer. 

Thord 

Now  don't  be  hasty,  Ingiald.    You're  so  hasty.    You  don't 
give  me  a  chance.    What  is  it  you  want  to  know? 

Ingiald 
Where  is  Thorolf? 

Thord 

I've  not   seen   him,   Ingiald.      How   should   I   know  where 
Thorolf  is  ? 

Ingiald 
He  was  seen  coming  towards  this  house. 

Thord 
Towards  this  house? 

Ingiald 
Only  an  hour  ago. 

[91] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
Thorolf? 

Ingiald 

No  more  talk,  my  friend.    Where  is  he? 

Thord 
I  don't  know,  Ingiald.    I  don't  know. 

Ingiald 

You  lying  knave.      You  creeping  worm.      You  dog  of . 

I'll  ram  this  scabbard  down  your  throat.  You  say  you  don't 
know.  Where  is  he?  Any  more  of  your  lies  and  I'll  squeeze 
your  lying  tongue  off. 

Thord 

Don't,  Ingiald.    Don't.    You're  hurting.    Don't,  man. 

Ingiald 
Well.    No  more  of  your  lies,  then. 

Thord 
Now  you've  hurt  me.    I  shall  have  a  sore  throat  for  a  week. 

Ingiald 

Do  you  good.    [A  pause.]    Now  then,  Thorolf 's  here.    Isn't 
he?    Hey? 

Thord 
Yes,  Ingiald. 

Ingiald 

I  thought  we  should  come  to  it  sooner  or  later.     See  what 
comes  of  being  patient.    So  he's  here.    Hidden  somewhere? 

[92] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
Yes,  Ingiald. 

Ingiald 
Where  is  he  hidden? 

Thord 

O,  but  I  couldn't  tell  you  that.  If  I  told  you  that  Pd  have 
to  leave  the  country.  No  one  would  speak  to  me,  if  I  told  you 
that. 

Ingiald 

That's  nothing  to  do  with  me.    Now  then.    Where  is  he? 

Thord 
O,  I  couldn't. 

Ingiald 
Hey? 

Thord 
I'd  have  to  leave  this  farm.    Have  mercy,  Ingiald. 

Ingiald 
Mercy,  eh? 

Thord 
I  couldn't  bear  it.     I'm  not  strong,  Ingiald.    My  head. 

Ingiald 
D'ye  see  this  little  knife  of  mine  ? 

Thord 

O,  don't,  Ingiald.  Ingiald,  you  don't  mean.  Ingiald,  I'd 
have  to  leave  the  country  if  I  told  you. 

[93l 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


Ingiald 


Look  here,  Thord.  I'm  going  to  get  Thorolf  before  I  go. 
Let's  understand  each  other. 

Thord 

O,  yes,  Ingiald.  I'll  do  anything.  I'll  say  anything.  But 
I  can't  tell  you  where  he  is.  I  can't.  I'd  have  to  leave  the 
country. 

Ingiald 

Well.  You  needn't  tell  me  where  he  is.  Not  in  so  many 
words.    D'ye  understand? 

Thord 
O,  Ingiald. 

Ingiald 

Let's  come  to  some  arrangement.  You  don't  want  your 
neighbours  to  call  you  a  traitor.  I  understand  that.  You 
don't  want  me  to  burn  your  house  down,  or  to  stick  this  knife 
into  you.  I  understand  that,  too.  Well.  You  give  up  Thorolf 
to  me  quietly. 

Thord 

I  can't,  Ingiald.  They'd  know.  They'd  know.  Vigdis 
would  tell  them. 

Ingiald 

I  don't  say  "betray  him,"  you  silly  gowk. 

Thord 
But  what  then,  Ingiald  ? 

Ingiald 
Give  me  some  hint  where  he  is,  so  that  I  can  find  him.     I'll 

[94] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

pretend  to  search  the  house,  and  light  on  him,  as  it  were, 
by  chance.     Come  now. 

Thord 

But 

Ingiald 

Come  now.    D'ye  see  this  bag?    [Produces  a  purse.] 

Thord 
Yes. 

Ingiald 
D'ye  hear  it?    Eh?    Chink.    Eh?    Chink?    Where  is  he? 

Thord 
I  couldn't. 

Ingiald 

Come  now.    Hark?    Three  silver  marks.    Eh?    Just  whisper. 
Where?    Come  now. 

Thord 
Three  silver  marks. 

Ingiald 

Three  silver  marks.     You  needn't  say  it  right  out.     Hear 
it  jingle. 

Thord 
It's  a  lot  of  money. 

Ingiald 
You  could  do  with  it,  eh  ?    Come  now,  old  man,  where  is  he  ? 

Thord 
Let  me  weigh  it  in  my  hand. 

[95 1 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Ingiald 

Certainly.  Here  you  are.  Now  then.  Whisper  here.  Where 
is  he?  Tell  me  where  he  is.  Where  is  he?  Is  he  in  the  ehest 
here? 

Thord 
No,  not  in  the  chest. 

Ingiald 

No?    What  is  in  the  chest? 

Thord 
Things  of  Vigdis's. 

Ingiald 

Is  he  upstairs,  then?    Eh?    Upstairs? 

Thord 
No.    He's  not  upstairs. 

Ingiald 
Outside?     Eh? 

Thord 

[Putting  the  bag  on  the  table.]    Ingiald. 

Ingiald 
Yes.    Well.    What  is  it? 

Thord 

You  won't  take  it  to  heart  my  hiding  him? 

Ingiald 
No.    No.    Of  course  I  won't. 

Thord 

Swear  you  won't.    You  won't  fine  me?    Nor  take  my  cattle? 

[96] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Ingiald 
Not  if  you  tell  me  where  he  is. 

Thord 
You'll  search  the  house  first,  Ingiald.    in  pretence? 

Ingiald 
Yes.    I'll  pretend  to  search  the  house.    And  then? 

Thord 
You  see  that  door  there  ? 

Ingiald 
Yes.    Yes.    What  then? 

Thord 

You  must  go  through  that  door.     No.     No.     Go  through 
this  door,  and  then  round  the  house. 

Ingiald 
Yes?    Where  to?    Among  the  ricks? 

Thord 
No.    Not  among  the  ricks. 

Ingiald 
In  the  dairy? 

Thord 

You  might  look  in  the  dairy. 

Ingiald 
Where  else,  eh  ? 

[97J 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


Thord 

Just  to  the  left  of  the 

dairy. 

The  cowbyre, 

eh? 

Ingiald 
Thord 

No.    No.    You  might  look  in  the  cowbyre, 

though, 

Where  else? 

Ingiald. 

Yes. 

Ingiald 

Thord 

Ingiald 

Thord 

Swear  you  won't  tell  anyone.     Swear  you  won't  say  I  told 
you. 

Ingiald 

Of  course  I  won't  tell  anyone. 

Thord 
You  might  count  the  sheep.    You  understand? 

Ingiald 
To  the  left  of  the  dairy,  eh? 

Thord 
To  the  left  of  the  dairy. 

Ingiald 
I'll  see  them  counted.    Thank'ee,  Thord. 

[98] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
Now,  you'll  pretend  to  look  upstairs? 

Ingiald 
Yes.    We'll  let  in  Vigdis,  now. 

Thord 
No,  not  Vigdis,  no. 

Ingiald 

Yes,  man.    Hey  there.    Erik! 

Erik 
Sir. 

Ingiald 

Tell  the  lady  to  come  in. 

Erik 
Tell  the  lady  to  come  in,  sir.     You  may  go  in  now,  mum. 
[Enter  Vigdis] 

Vigdis 
Well.     Have  you  had  a  nice  talk? 

Ingiald 

No.  Not  so  nice  as  I  could  have  wished,  perhaps.  Your 
husband's  very  low  to-night.  Excuse  me  a  moment.  Hi  there. 
Hrapp,  Hoskuld. 

Soldiers 
[Entering.]    Sir.    Sir. 

Ingiald 

I'm  sorry,  Vigdis.    But  I  must  search  the  house.    Your  hus- 

[99l 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

band  has  given  me  permission.     I  must  look  through  all  the 
rooms. 

Vigdis 
Search  my  house,  indeed. 

Ingiald 

I  won't  disarrange  it  more  than  can  be  helped. 

Vigdis 

Search  my  house,  indeed.  For  what  will  you  search  my 
house  ? 

Ingiald 
For  your  cousin,  Thorolf. 

Vigdis 

My — cousin — Thorolf.  And  why  should  you  want  my 
cousin  Thorolf,  I  should  like  to  know? 

Ingiald 
Come,  Vigdis,  I'm  sorry.    Now  don't  let's  have  a  scene. 

Vigdis 

A  scene,  indeed.  And  why  should  you  have  a  scene?  I'm 
not  going  to  have  my  house  pulled  to  pieces. 

Ingiald 
They  won't  do  any  harm,  Vigdis. 

Vigdis 

Harm  or  no  harm,  I  won't  have  anyone  spying  around  in  my 
house.  I  never  heard  of  such  impudence.  This  is  my  house.  It 
isn't  Thorolf 's  house.    What  d'ye  want  Thorolf  for? 

[100] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Ingiald 
You  know  perfectly  well,  Vigdis,  what  I  want  Thorolf  for. 

Vigdis 

[To  Thord.]  And  I'm  to  be  insulted  in  my  own  house!  I 
wonder  you  sit  there  and  let  your  wife  be  insulted.  As  for 
you,  Ingiald,  for  all  your  lordship,  you  never  had  more  manners 
than  one  brought  up  in  a  pigstye.  It  is  what  I  might  expect 
from  you.  But  as  for  you,  Thord,  Pm  ashamed  of  you.  De- 
fend your  wife,  man.  Don't  let  these  louts  throw  the  whole 
house  overboard. 

Ingiald 

[To  his  men.]  Upstairs  with  you.  Search  every  room  in  the 
house. 

Vigdis 

How  dare  you  insult  a  woman  so?  You  great  captains  want 
humbling.    If  I  were  a  man  now,  you  wouldn't  dare. 

Erik 
[To  Ingiald.]    Beg  pardon,  captain. 

Ingiald 
What  is  it? 

Erik 

That  box,  captain.     [Points  to  chest.] 

Ingiald 
Well.    What  about  it? 

Erik 
I  was  thinking  he  might  be  in  that  box. 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Ingiald 

O,  nonsense.    Upstairs  with  you. 

[They  all  run  upstairs] 

[To  Thord.]  You  come,  too,  Thord.  If  anything' s  missing 
you'll  blame  my  men. 

Thord 

[Aside.]    Let  Vigdis  go,  Ingiald.    Take  Vigdis. 

Ingiald 
[Glancing  at  her.]     No.     She  suspects  nothing.     You  come. 

Thord 
No.    I  don't  think  she  suspects.    No,  she  suspects  nothing. 

Vigdis 
Where  are  you  going,  Thord? 

Thord 
Upstairs  with  Ingiald. 

Vigdis 

Am  I  married  to  a  man  or  to  a  bleating  old  sheep  with  the 
staggers  ?  Do  you  call  yourself  a  human  being,  Thord  ?  [Aside.] 
What's  Ingiald  going  to  do? 

Ingiald 
Come,  Thord.    Come  on,  now. 

Thord 

[To  Vigdis.]    Get  supper  ready.    Don't  stand  there. 

[Exit  with  Ingiald] 
[102] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


VlGDIS 


Get  supper  ready.  Get  supper  ready.  What's  he  going  to 
do  ?  Why  didn't  Thord  give  me  a  hint  ?  He'll  search  the  sheep- 
fold.  Of  course  he'll  search  the  sheep-fold.  He'll  be  going 
to  the  fold  in  another  minute.  Why  did  I  leave  him  in  the 
sheep-fold?  Why  did  I  let  him  stay  at  all?  What  can  I  do? 
What  can  I  do?  He'll  be  down  in  a  minute.  What's  this  bag 
of  money?  What's  this  bag  of  money?  Thord's  sold  him.  It's 
blood  money,  I  know  it.  What  can  I  do?  O  God.  What 
can  I  do? 

Thord 

[Above.]    Vigdis. 

VlGDIS 

Yes,  Thord. 

Thord 

All  right.  Nothing.  I  only  wanted  to  know  if  you  were 
there. 

Vigdis 

What  can  I  do?  I  know.  I  know.  It's  a  bare  chance.  It's 
a  bare  chance. 

[She  runs  softly  and  swiftly  from  the  room.] 

[In  two  seconds  she  returns  with  Thorolf] 

[Noise  above,  and  shouts] 


Vigdis 

Quiet.    Quiet.    Not 

a  whisper. 

Thorolf 

What  shall  I  do? 

Vigdis 

Not  a  whisper. 

f  103 1 

THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
[Above.]    Vigdis.    Are  you  there  still? 

VlGDIS 

I'm  still  here,  Thord.  What's  the  matter  with  you?  Into 
the  chest,  Thorolf.    Get  into  the  chest.     [She  opens  chest.] 

Thorolf 
[Kissing  her.]    Good-bye,  in  case,  Vigdis. 

Vigdis 

O  you  silly  boy.  Get  in.  I  must  lock  you  in.  Don't  sneeze, 
for  God's  sake.  Press  your  upper  lip  if  you  want  to  sneeze. 
It's  a  bare  chance,  Thorolf.  [She  locks  the  chest  on  him  and 
takes  key.  Then  she  hurriedly  and  softly  puts  bread  and  beer 
upon  the  table  as  for  supper.] 

[Re-enter  Ingiald,  Thord,  and  Soldiers] 

Vigdis 

Well,  my  lord.  Did  you  find  my  cousin  Thorolf  by  any 
chance  ? 

Ingiald 

I've  not  finished  looking  yet. 

Vigdis 

Haven't  you  ?  You  might  look  on  the  dresser  there.  I  would 
if  I  were  you.  Or  in  the  oven.  Yes,  look  in  the  oven,  Ingiald. 
Show  him  the  oven,  Thord. 

Ingiald 

[To  some  of  his  men.]    Step  into  the  kitchen,  and  look  in  the 

[104] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

oven.    You.     Come  with  me  the  rest  of  you.    We  must  look 
through  the  farmyard. 

VlGDIS 

Don't  disturb  your  elder  brother,  Ingiald. 

Ingiald 
What  elder  brother? 

Vigdis 
The   donkey. 

Ingiald 

Ah,  you're  funny,  Vigdis.     Well,  he  laughs  best  who  laughs 
last,  /  say. 

[Exit  with  Men] 

Vigdis 
Thord.     Thord  Goddi. 

Thord 
Yes,  Vigdis. 

Vigdis 

What's  this  bag  of  money,  here? 

Thord 
Bag  of  money? 

Vigdis 

This  bag  of  money  here.    What  is  it? 

Thord 
It's  what  I  brought  from  market. 

Vigdis 
It's  nothing  of  the  sort. 

[io5] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
Oh  no.    Nor  it  is. 

Vigdis 
Well? 

Thord 

Well?    I  suppose  Ingiald  left  it  there  when  he  came  in. 

Vigdis 

Did  you  see  Ingiald  leave  it  there?    O,  what  am  I  thinking 
of?    [Aside.] 

Thord 

Now  for  Heaven's  sake  stop  nagging.  Hark! 

Vigdis 
What  is  it? 

Thord 
I  thought  I  heard  a  noise  in  the  yard.    A  cry. 

Vigdis 
My  God.    A  cry.    [They  go  to  the  door.] 

Thord 
I  hope  they  won't  find  him. 

Vigdis 

Thank  God  I  did  what  I  could  for  him.     O,  may  Heaven 
blind  them. 

Thord 

Fm  afraid  they're  sure  to  find  him.    What  was  that? 

fio6] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 
VlGDIS 

My  God.    They're  brave,  aren't  they,  thirteen  to  one? 

Thord 
Didn't  you  hear  a  sort  of  groan  then? 

Vigdis 
Poor  Thorolf.    Poor  Thorolf. 

Thord 
We  did  our  best,  Vigdis. 

Vigdis 

Yes.     May  God   always  help  you,  Thord,   as  well  as  you 
helped  Thorolf! 

Thord 

Yes,  I  shall  always  be  glad  I  did  my  best  for  him. 

Vigdis 
Yes,  Thord.    I  suppose  you  will  be.    I  hope  you  will  be. 

Thord 
Poor  fellow. 

Vigdis 
Poor  Thorolf. 

Thord 

Don't  take  on,  Vigdis.    We  must  all  die.    Ah.     Ah.     Come 
away  from  the  door.     Come.     [Cries  without.] 

Vigdis 

[Covering  her  eyes.]    O,  my  dear,  my  dear.    O  Thorolf,  little 
brown-haired  Thorolf. 

[  107  ] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thord 
There.    There.    It's  all  over  now. 

Vigdis 
O  my  Thorolf,  my  cousin  Thorolf. 

Thord 

There.  There.  Now  don't  take  on.  Don't  take  on;  you 
get  on  my  nerves  when  you  cry  like  that. 

Vigdis 

O,  you  had  brown  hair,  Thorolf.  Bonny  hair  you  had. 
O  my  boy,  my  poor  cousin.     [Cries  without.] 

Thord 

[Aside.]  They've  got  him.  They've  got  him.  [He  rubs 
his  hands.]  We  all  owe  Heaven  a  death.  Poor  Thorolf.  Poor 
fellow.    And  him  so  young. 

Vigdis 

It  was  a  sight  for  sore  eyes  on  a  sunny  morning  to  see  him 
going  over  the  hills.  O  Thorolf,  you  were  the  joy  of  a  woman's 
eyes.  You  were  as  stately  as  a  stag.  You  were  as  comely  as  a 
king's  darling.  O  my  boy,  my  poor  cousin,  my  own  dear, 
my  heart's  darling,  Thorolf! 

Thord 

And  him  so  young.  And  such  a  promising  young  fellow. 
To  be  cut  short.  Life  is  but  a  span.  And  him  so  young.  Idle, 
vicious,  drunken  blackguard,  it's  a  good  job  you  are  cut  short. 
[More  noise  without.] 

[108,1 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

VlGDIS 

He  had  soft  brown  hair  with  threads  of  gold  in  it  like  the 
bright  bird's  feathers.  Now  it's  dabbled  with  blood,  dabbled 
with  blood,  dabbled  with  blood. 

Thord 
Dabbled  with  blood.    0!    O  me! 

VlGDIS 

O  young  man,  0  treasure  of  the  west,  0  white,  comely, 
handsome  Thorolf!  Yours  will  be  a  cold  bride  bed  under  the 
winter  grass. 

Thord 

0,  do  for  Heaven's  sake  be  quiet. 

VlGDIS 

A  cold  bed,  a  lonely  bed,  a  white  bed. 

Thord 

You'll  waste  none  of  our  sheets,  laying  of  him  out.  Let 
me  tell  you  that. 

VlGDIS 

Three  white  lonely  candles  in  a  draught,  three  flames  gut- 
tering, but  you  will  lie  still  beneath  them,  Thorolf. 

Thord 
Vigdis.    Do  you  want  to  drive  me  mad?    Have  done  now. 

VlGDIS 

O  bonny  Thorolf.    Swimming  and  rowing  and  going  among 

[109I 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

young  men  you  were  like  a  king.  None  could  sail  a  boat  like 
you.  No  queen  ever  loosed  her  hair  about  a  lovelier  lover  than 
you.  You  were  courteous,  you  were  kind,  you  had  strength 
and  beauty,  you  were  brave;  now  you  will  lie  in  the  ground, 
and  the  sheep  will  crop  the  grass  there. 

Thord 

Here.  Vigdis.  A  little  of  that  goes  a  long  way.  ThorolPs 
dead.  Here's  Ingiald  coming  back.  Hold  your  noise  now, 
for  Heaven's  sake. 

[Re-enter  Ingiald  with  Men] 

Ingiald 
I've  a  bone  to  pick  with  you,  Thord. 

Vigdis 

Bring  me  my  dead.  Give  me  my  dead,  you  butchers,  you 
bloody   men. 

Ingiald 
D'ye  hear? 

Vigdis 

Thirteen  to  one.  Thirteen  to  one.  You  butchers.  You 
bloody  men.  Bring  me  my  dead.  Bring  me  my  dead  darling. 
You  cowards.     You  cowards. 

Ingiald 
What's  wrong  with  you,  Vigdis  ? 

Vigdis 

Let  me  look  upon  the  boy's  dead  face.     You  butchers.     O 

[no] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

fair,  white  face.    O  white  face  with  the  red  blood  upon  it.    O 
my  boy,  my  dear  boy,  Thorolf. 

Ingiald 

He'll  be  a  white  face  when  I  get  him  and  that's  a  fact,  Vigdis. 
I'll  promise  you  that  much.     Thord,  I'll  wring  your  ears  off. 

Vigdis 

Where  is  my  dead  lad?    You  dogs.     You  butchers.     Take 
me  to  his  corpse. 

Ingiald 
Your  dead  lad?    There's  no  dead  lad.     . 

Vigdis 
Not  dead.    O,  Heaven!    [Pretends  to  swoon.] 

Thord 
What? 

Ingiald 

I'll  tell  you  what,  you  creeping  rot.    You  cur.    You  Judas. 
What  have  you  done  with  him? 

Thord 
Done  with  him? 

Ingiald 

With  Thorolf.     Eh.     Where  is  he?     Eh?     What  have  you 
done  with  him? 

Thord 
I've  done  nothing,  Ingiald.    Nothing. 

11111 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Ingiald 
Don't  tell  me  you've  done  nothing. 

Thord 
I  didn't  do  anything  with  him. 

Ingiald 

You  lying  knave.    D'ye  dare  to  sit  there  and  say  you  haven't 
got  him  off? 

Thord 
I  haven't  got  him  off. 

Ingiald 
You  lie. 

Thord 
How  could  I  have  got  him  off? 

Ingiald 

How?    How  do  I  know  how?    But  I'll  know  how.    I'll  flay 
you  alive.     I'll  skin  you  and  salt  you.     I'll — I'll — I'll 

Thord 
O,  don't.    Ingiald,  I  swear — I  swear  I  thought  you'd  get  him. 

Ingiald 
I  tell  you,  you've  got  him  off. 

Thord 
I  haven't,  Ingiald. 

Ingiald 

[To  his  men.]    Look  at  him.     Look    at   this  liar,  here.    I 

[112] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

come  here  to  this  liar  and  tell  him  I  want  Thorolf.  And  he 
cringes  and  whines  and  licks  my  boots.  So  I  just  speak  to  him 
kindly,  like  a  father.  I'm  always  kindly  and  like  a  father. 
I'm  too  kind.  And  he  cringes  and  whines,  and  begs  me  not 
to  hit  him.  Only  spare  my  precious  hide,  he  says,  and  I'll 
tell  you  where  Thorolf  is. 

The  Men 

Hear  that  now.     He  betrayed  him,  etc. 

Then  he  wants  a  little  money,  for  saying  where  Thorolf  is. 
The  money  on  the  table  there.  Three  marks  of  silver,  no  less. 
He'd  sell  his  own  mother  for  a  little  money.    Wouldn't  you,  eh? 

Thord 
I  wouldn't. 

Ingiald 

You  would,  you  know  it.  Three  marks  of  silver  you  begged. 
And  then  you  told  me  to  look  in  the  sheep-fold. 

The  Men 
Treacherous  swine.    His  own  cousin.    His  own  cousin. 

Ingiald 

And  then  he  sneaks  his  man  ofF  while  we're  rummaging  in 
the  wrong  place.  And  now  he  expects  me  to  be  out  three  marks 
of  silver. 

The  Men 

Tie  him  to  the  bull's  tail,  master;  and  let's  hunt  him. 

Ingiald 
So  you'd  sell  your  cousin,  would  you,  and  then  try  to  go  back 

[113] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

on  your  bargain?     [Going  to  him.]     Where  have  you  taken 
Thorolfto?    Eh? 

Thord 

He  was  in  the  sheep-fold  where  I  told  you,  Ingiald.    He  was. 
Indeed  he  was. 

Ingiald 

0!    Was  he?    And  where  is  he  now?    Gone  to  OlaPs,  I  sup- 
pose. 

Thord 

He  may  have  gone  to  OlaPs. 

The  Men 
OlaPs  is  a  likely  place.     We'd  better  go  on  there  at  once. 

Ingiald 

Lord  help  you,  Thord,  if  we  don't  get  him.     Understand? 
I  mean  it.     Come  on  there. 

A  Man 
You  never  looked  in  that  chest  yet,  captain. 

Ingiald 
0  yes,  that  chest.     [He  tries  lid.]    Where's  the  key,  Thord? 

Thord 
Ask  Vigdis. 

Ingiald 
Where's  the  key  of  this  chest,  Vigdis? 

[114] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

VlGDIS 

Key  of  the  chest,  indeed.  Who  are  you  to  ask  for  my  keys? 
I'm  not  going  to  have  you  spying  in  my  chests.  You  and  your 
gang  have  done  harm  enough  here.  You'll  get  no  key.  Let 
that  be  enough. 

Ingiald 
Come  now.     The  key. 

Vigdis 
I  tell  you,  you  shall  not  have  the  key. 

The  Men 
Break  it  open,  captain. 

A  Man 

O,  let  the  chest  alone.  Thorolf'll  be  safe  at  OlaPs  if  we  don't 
hurry. 

Ingiald 
Give  me  the  key. 

Thord 
Give  up  the  key  at  once. 

Vigdis 

I  tell  you,  you  shall  not  have  the  key.  You've  thrown  the 
house  overboard  as  it  is.    Get  out  now.    Go. 

Ingiald 
Give  me  that  key  at  once,  Vigdis. 

Vigdis 

[Flinging  key  on  floor.]  Take  it  then,  and  bad  luck  go  with  it. 
Here  it  is.    Now  open. 

[115] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


Ingiald 


[Giving  it  back.]     Thank  you.     That's  all  I  wanted.     Now, 
Thord.     Give  back  that  bag  of  money. 

Thord 
O  Ingiald,  you  gave  it  to  me. 

Ingiald 
Now  you  will  give  it  back. 

Thord 
O  Ingiald. 

Vigdis 

Give  it,  Thord.     Give  it,  you  Judas,  you.     D'ye  think  I'll 
have  blood  money  in  the  house?    Give  it  up  at  once. 

[The  Men  go  out  and  linger  at  the  door] 
Ingiald 


Come  on  now. 


Vigdis 


[Taking  money  bag.]  I've  only  one  thing  to  say  to  you, 
Ingiald.  I  say,  take  your  money  and  get  out  of  my  house,  now. 
[She  makes  him  back  to  the  door.]  Take  your  dirty  blood  money. 
[She  smites  him  over  the  face  with  the  money  bag  and  drives  him  out. 
She  watches  them  go.]  Go  on  to  Olaf's  with  you,  and  try  some 
other  Judas.  That's  all  I've  to  say  to  you,  my  lord.  [She  turns 
and  unlocks  chest.  Then,  instead  of  opening,  she  turns  to  look  at 
Thord.  Thord  goes  to  door  and  looks  out,  comes  back  and  sits  on 
chest.    Vigdis  backs  away  from  him.] 

[116] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 


Thord 


Well.  They've  gone.  [A  pause.]  They've  gone.  [No  answer.] 
Can't  you  answer  when  I  speak  to  you? 

Vigdis 

Yes.  I  can  answer.  Listen  to  me,  Thord  Goddi.  You  and 
I  will  part  from  now.  You  took  money  to  betray  Thorolf,  your 
guest  and  my  cousin.  I  always  knew  you  for  a  mean  man. 
Now  I  know  you  are  base,  and  a  dastard,  and  a  dog.  God 
forgive  me,  I  once  loved  you.  Pah.  I  let  you  kiss  me.  I  held 
you  in  my  arms.  There.  There.  There.  Take  it.  [She 
flings  her  wedding  ring  at  him.]  Now  we'll  part,  my  sir.  I  thank 
God  I  never  bore  you  a  child. 

Thord 

[Laughing  nervously.]  I've  got  a  headache.  I  can't — Ow — 
[The  chest  lid  rises.  Thord  leaps  from  it.  Thorolf  appears.] 
Thorolf! 

Thorolf 
Thorolf! 

Thord 

Thorolf,  I  didn't  mean — I  swear  I  didn't.  I  didn't  mean. 
It  was  only  a  joke.    I'll  explain. 

Thorolf 
Thord.    Pah.    You're  not  worth  it. 

Thord 

O  Thorolf.  You  shall  have — I'll  give  you  my  money.  All 
of  it 

[117] 


THE  LOCKED  CHEST 

Thorolf 
Pah.    Vigdis,  my  dear,  where  are  they? 

Vigdis 

They've  gone,  Thorolf.  We  can  slip  away  to  Broadfirth  now. 
It's  quite  safe.  Come.  Come.  We'll  go  together,  my  friend. 
[They  turn  to  go.] 

Thord 

I'll  change  my  religion. 


Curtain 


Written  in  1906. 


[«8l 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Scene:     An  inn  at  Dunleary.     A  parlour.     Tiger  Roche, 
an  old,  well-preserved  man,  with  his  left  arm  in  a  sling. 

Roche 
I  have  been  in  seven  lost  causes.  This  is  the  seventh;  and 
it  comes  to  an  end  like  the  others.  There  were  good  fellows 
with  me.  They  poured  out  their  lives  like  water.  Good  fellows 
they  were.  They  are  all  gone  now.  Shears,  and  all  of  them. 
My  God !  but  they  were  brave.  And  to  think  of  those  swine  at 
the  Castle  ruling  men  like  they  were!    [He  rings  the  bell.} 

[Enter  Hostess] 
Well,  what  did  the  ship-captain  say? 

Hostess 

There'll  be  a  boat  below  the  door  here  in  half  an  hour  from 
now. 

Roche 
And  he'll  engage  to  land  me  in  France? 

Hostess 
In  France  itself. 

Roche 
You  said  half  an  hour? 

Hostess 
Yes,  sir. 

Roche 

So  I've  half  an  hour  more  in  Ireland.    Half  an  hour  more  in 
Ireland,  and  then — 


[121] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Adieu  for  ever  more, 

My  love, 
Adieu  for  ever  more. 

Well,  there's  no  sense  in  sorrow;  I  may  as  well  have  some  wine. 

Hostess 
What  wine  would  you  like,  sir?    Claret?     Burgundy? 

Roche 
Have  you  any  Miss  Taylor? 

Hostess 
Why,  sir,  that's  a  common  drink.    Only  sailors  drink  Miss 
Taylor. 

Roche 

I  drank  a  cup  of  Miss  Taylor  the  day  I  landed  at  Killala. 
I  would  drink  it  again  to  the  memory  of  the  friends  who  pledged 
me  in  it.  [Soliloquizing.]  It  ought  not  to  have  failed.  But 
the  honest  purpose  does  fail,  for  it  is  fighting  the  knavery 
of  the  world.  It's  a  harsh  alternative,  to  fail  or  be  British. 
Fail,  aye,  and  I'm  proud  to  fail. 

Better  be  trampled  out  by  asses'  hooves 
Than  be  the  thing  the  asses'  mind  approves. 

[Hostess  goes  out  and  returns  with  bottle  and  glass] 

Hostess 
Here  it  is,  sir. 

Roche 
I  thank  you. 

[Hostess  goes  out] 
[Pouring  out  a  glass  of  wine  and  holding  it  up.]     I  drink  to 

[122] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

you,  my  comrades.  You  fought  a  good  fight,  my  comrades. 
You  were  spent  like  water.  Your  names  shall  be  written  in 
fire. 

[Re-enter  Hostess] 

Hostess 

There's  some  gentlemen  coming,  sir.  Perhaps  you'd  like  to 
step  aside,  sir.  The  cellar's  dark,  and  there's  a  good  place 
in  the  henhouse. 

Roche 
I'll  stay  where  I  am,  thank  you. 

Hostess 

It  may  be  dangerous  for  you  to  stay,  sir.  One  of  them's 
that  Major  Sirr. 

Roche 

I  shall  be  glad  to  meet  him. 

Hostess 

[Looking  out.]  It  may  be  very  dangerous,  sir.  One  of  them's 
that  Major  Sandys. 

Roche 
O!    Who's  the  third? 

Hostess 

Sir,  would  you  not  be  advised,  since  it  might  be  your  death  ? 
He's  the  drunken  fat  man  who  flogged  poor  Mr.  Wright.  I 
must  go  out,  sir. 

[Exit] 
[123] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Roche 

Old  Fitzpatrick!     I   shall    have    pleasant  company  for  my 
last  half-hour  in  Ireland.     [He  sits  down.] 

[Enter  Major  Sirr,  Major  Sandys,  and  Thomas  Judkin 
Fitzpatrick,  J.  P.] 

Fitz. 

And  so,  sir,  when  he  said  that,  sir,  there  was  no  use  bother- 
ing a  jury. 

Sirr 

Aha.    Very  good,  very  good.    You  are  a  wag,  sir. 

Fitz. 

Yes,  sir,  the  rebellious  dog. 

Sand. 

All  the  same,  the  rebellion's  not  stamped  out.     I  shall  be 
glad  when  that  new  regiment  comes  in. 

Sirr 
What  new  regiment? 

Sand. 

O,   a   Kentish   regiment.     Fencibles  and  that.     They'll  be 
marching  through  here,  by  the  way.    Before  we  go,  I  expect. 

Sirr 

Well,  the  more  the  merrier.    But  all  the  same,  I  think  we've 
scotched  the  rebellion.    Let's  sit  down  and  be  merry. 

Sand. 
All  the  same,  I'm  glad  the  new  regiment's  coming.    And  I'm 

[124] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

glad  it'll  pass  this  tavern.    We  are  in  the  enemy's  country,  so 
far  from  Dublin. 

Sirr 

Come,  let's  be  merry.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  I  hear  you  hanged 
the  last  of  these  rebels  yesterday  morning. 

Fitz. 

Yes,  sir;  the  rebellious  dog.  Under  God's  providence  I  hanged 
that  rebel,  sir.  The  rebellious  dog,  sir,  he  was  little  better  than 
a  common  atheist.  If  we  could  catch  that  arch-traitor,  Tiger 
Roche,  sir;  why,  honest  men,  sir,  could  sleep  in  peace  again. 

Sand. 
Why,  I  thought  Tiger  Roche  had  died  twenty  years  ago. 

Fitz. 

That's  an  instance,  sir,  of  the  lengths  these  rebels  go  to.  It's 
their  subtlety,  sir;  their  canting,  lying,  hypocritical  subtlety.  He 
pretended  he  was  dead,  sir.  He  gave  out  a  report  that  he  was 
dead,  sir.  And  then,  sir,  if  you  please,  he  lands  at  Killala  with 
a  troop  of  pike-men.  Dead  ?  A  crocodile's  tears,  sir.  Twenty 
years  of  scheming  and  plotting;  and  pretending  all  the  time  he 
was  in  his  grave.  [Staring  hard  at  Roche.]  Who's  the  old  put 
with  his  arm  in  a  bag? 

SlRR 

0,  some  old  put  or  other.    Let's  be  merry.    [He  rings  the  bell] 
[Enter  Hostess] 

Sirr 
Mine's  brandy.    What's  yours?    What's  yours,  Sandys? 

[125] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 
FlTZ. 

A  bottle  of  brandy,  woman.    Bring  a  bottle  of  brandy. 

[Hostess  brings  bottle  and  glasses.  Then  lingers.}  Well, 
ma'am.    And  why  don't  you  go,  ma'am? 

Hostess 
The  brandy  is  half  a  guinea,  sir. 

Fitz. 

You  saucy  jade.  Hark  ye,  mistress.  I'd  have  you  know, 
ma'am,  that  I'm  a  justice  of  the  peace,  ma'am.  I  shouldn't 
wonder  if  you're  another  of  these  pernicious  atheistical  Friends 
of  Ireland,  as  they  call  them.  Pernicious,  lying,  murderous 
dogs. — Well!  What  are  you  waiting  for? 

Hostess 
I'm  waiting  for  my  money,  sir.    I  don't  like  to  be  put  upon. 

Fitz 

What?  Rebel,  would  you,  against  the  King's  Peace?  I  am 
the  King's  Peace,  madam.  Not  another  word,  or  I'll  commit 
you. 

[Exit  Hostess] 

SlRR 

You  are  a  wag,  sir.    You  are  merry. 

Sand. 

Excellent.     Excellent. 

[They  draw  to  the  table,  unbuckle  their  belts,  put  down  their 
swords  and  papers,  and  prepare  to  enjoy  themselves.] 

[126] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

[To  Fitz.]  They  say  you  made  a  great  haul  of  rebels  in  Tip- 
perary,  about  six  weeks  back. 

Fitz. 

Under  God's  providence,  I  did,  sir.  I  caught  seven,  sir.  I 
had  them  all  flogged,  sir,  and  then  hanged  the  eldest.  Strong 
measures,  sir;  but  without  strong  measures  we  shouldn't  sleep 
in  peace,  sir.  No,  sir.  If  we  didn't  exert  the  strong  arm,  sir — 
and  you  will  agree  with  me  that  might  is  right — there' d  be  a 
subversion  of  all  Liberty.  But  I  thank  God,  sir,  that  we  have 
a  Constitution.  Let  me  hear  no  cant  about  Equality  and 
Liberty,  and  the  Rights  of  Man,  sir.  Show  me  a  man  who  talks 
of  Truth,  and  I  will  show  you  a  rebel. 

Sirr 
Hear,  hear. 

Sand. 
Well,  about  the  rebels.    How  did  you  catch  them? 

Fitz. 

Catch  them  ?  I  saw  them  in  the  streets,  sir.  The  effrontery 
of  these  rebels  knows  no  bounds,  sir. 

Sand. 
What,  with  arms  in  their  hands? 

Fitz. 

Arms  in  their  hands?  No,  sir.  In  Tipperary,  sir — under 
God's  providence — they  know  better. 

[127] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Sand. 
Well — but  how  did  you  know  them? 

Fitz. 

Know  them,  sir?  I  knew  them  by  their  waistcoats,  their 
canting,  atheistical,  seditious  red  French  waistcoats.  There 
was  "Down  with  Church  and  State"  in  every  button.  Sir, 
the  evidence  was  plain,  sir.  Those  waistcoats  would  have  con- 
demned a  Christian  martyr,  sir. 

Roche 
[Aside.]    It  seems  they  did. 

Fitz. 
What's  the  old  put  there  muttering? 

Sand. 

Ah,  don't  pay  any  heed  to  him.  Tell  us  of  the  man  who 
didn't  take  off  his  hat  to  you. 

Sirr 

Yes,  tell  us  of  that.  You  are  a  wag,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick.  I'm 
afraid  you're  a  merry  wag,  sir. 

Fitz. 
Sir,  your  very  good  health. 

Sirr 
O,  sir,  your  servant,  I'm  sure. 

[They  drink] 
[128] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Sand. 
Well,  about  the  man 

Fitz. 

0,  yes.  The  rebellious  hound.  He  didn't  take  off  his  hat  to 
me,  sir.  Well,  sir.  He  that  affronts  me,  sir,  affronts  King 
George,  sir.  For  I,  sir,  under  God's  providence,  am  King 
George's  Justice  of  the  Peace,  sir;  so,  sir,  when  a  man  does  not 
salute  me,  he  does  not  salute  King  George,  sir.  He  is  a  rebel, 
sir.  A  sans-culotte,  sir.  A  murdering  pike  in  the  hand  of  a 
sans-culotte,  sir.  He  is  a  rebel  on  the  face  of  it.  And  so,  sir,  to 
make  a  short  tale,  I  gave  him  fifty  lashes.  And  d'ye  know,  sir, 
he  had  the  brazen-faced  effrontery  to  contradict  me  when  I 
called  him  a  rebel  to  his  teeth.  Beat  that  if  you  can,  sir.  What 
d'ye  think  of  that,  sir?  Beat  it  if  you  can  for  cold-blooded, 
brazen-faced,  rebellious  audacity.  These  people  are  possessed 
of  the  devil,  sir. 

Sand. 

Look  at  my  case.  Only  last  week.  I  had  a  traitor.  He  was 
taken  in  the  fact,  as  it  were.  That  man  Hevey.  Why,  he  was 
a  known  traitor.  There  was  no  need  to  try  him.  The  thing 
was  evident.  I  condemned  him  to  be  hanged.  Well,  he  had  a 
mare,  a  grey  mare,  a  famous  creature.  I  told  him  to  send  her 
round  to  me.  I  told  him  straight  out  that  a  mare  like  her  should 
never  again  load  her  loyal  loins  with  the  vile  burden  of  a  con- 
victed traitor.  And  he'd  the  heaven-sent  impudence  to  com- 
plain to  General  Craig. 

Fitz. 

These  people  are  possessed  of  the  devil,  sir.  But  come,  a 
bumper.     A  bumper. 

[129] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

SlRR 

[Aside.]  I  think  that  old  put's  a  rebel.  He  blushed  like  fire, 
Major,  when  you  told  your  story. 

[They  look  at  Roche,  who  is  reading  a  little  book] 

FlTZ. 

What's  he  reading?  These  reading  people,  they're  generally 
deep  ones. 

Sirr 
[Peeping.]     It  seems  to  be  poetry. 

FlTZ. 

[Aside.]  Poetry?  He  is  a  rebel  without  doubt.  [Aloud.] 
I  would  make  it  a  capital  offence  to  read  poetry.  Yes,  sir. 
When  a  man  deliberately  starts  to  poison  his  mind  with  in- 
cendiary cant  about  Truth  and  Beauty,  he  is  as  good  as  damned, 
sir.  I  would  hang  any  man  who  read  poetry.  A  man  who  has 
a  book  of  poems  in  one  hand  has  always  a  rebel's  pike  in  the 
other.  You  mark  my  words,  sir.  Ahem!  You,  sir!  You 
with  your  arm  in  the  sling. 

Roche 
You  were  pleased  to  speak  to  me? 

FlTZ. 

Yes,  sir,  I  was  pleased,  as  you  call  it,  to  speak  to  you.  Don't 
trifle  with  me,  sir.  For  I  am,  under  God's  providence,  a  Justice 
of  the  King's  Peace,  King  George's  deputy,  under  God's  provi- 
dence, if  you  know  what  that  means. 

[130] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Roche 

Sir,  I  know  what  that  means.    Yes,  sir,  I  know  what  that 
means.    Its  meaning  is  written  red  across  this  island. 

Fitz. 

So,  sir.    I  am  glad  to  find  you  so  well  affected.    Are  you  an 
honest  man,  sir? 

Roche 

Come,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick.    A  man  is  known  by  the  company  he 
keeps. 

Sirr 
You  are  a  wag,  sir. 

Fitz. 

So,  sir,  I  see  you  know  me? 

Roche 
Not  know  Mr.  Fitzpatrick! 

Fitz. 
Why  then,  sir,  you  will  let  me  see  what  book  you  are  reading. 

Roche 
With  pleasure,  sir.    The  Odes  of  Horace. 

Sand. 

I  know  that  Odes  O'Horace  to  be  a  pamphleteering  rebel. 
Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  we  must  secure  this  man. 

Sirr 

[Looking  at  book.]     There's  mighty  few  rebels  understands 
Hebrew,  let  me  tell  you  that,  Sandys. 

[131] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Roche 

[To  Sirr.]  I  thought  I  couldn't  be  mistaken.  Can  it  be — 
tell  me — Am  I  not  in  the  presence  of  Major  Sirr,  the  saviour  of 
this  benighted  country,  the  apprehender  of  that  arch-offender, 
that  rebel  chief,  Sir  Peter  Keogh?  O  happy  day!  A  glorious 
privilege ! 

Fitz. 

Yes,  sir,  that  is  Major  Sirr,  sir.  Our  Saviour  under  God's 
providence,  Major  Sirr,  sir.  Come,  sit  down  and  be  merry, 
Mr. — Mr. — what's  your  name? 

Sand. 

All  very  well,  Fitzpatrick.  But  you  and  I  are  of  the  Commis- 
sion. Hark!  There's  the  fifes.  The  regiment's  coming.  We'd 
better  send  him  in  with  the  regiment  and  have  him  properly 
examined. 

Sirr 
Don't  be  an  ass,  Sandys. 

Fitz. 

Major  Sandys,  sir.  When  you  are  drunk,  sir,  you  are  a  credit 
to  your  King  and  your  religion,  sir.  But  Major  Sandys,  sir, 
when  your  are  sober,  sir,  you  are  a  dry  toast,  sir.  You  stick 
in  an  honest  man's  throat,  sir.  Damme,  sir,  sit  down  and  drink 
like  a  Christian. 

Sand. 

Well.  The  regiment's  coming.  The  band  are  out  of  tune. 
These  militia  are  the  deuce.  Well,  Mr.  Rebel,  or  Mr.  Honest 
Man,  whoever  you  are,  the  bottle  lies  with  you. 

[132] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

FlTZ. 
Give  us  a  toast,  Mr.  Honest  Man. 

Roche 

Gentlemen,  pass  up  your  glasses.     I  will  give  you  a  toast. 
Hand  up  your  glasses.    I  will  give  you  a  toast. 

SlRR 
What  is  it  you're  drinking? 

Roche 

Tokay,  Major,  a  kind  of  Imperial  Tokay. 

Fitz. 

A  man  who  drinks  Tokay,  sir,  is  a  man  of  principle.    Did  the 
rebels  drink  Tokay?    No,  sir,  they  drank  vile  atheistical  whisky. 

Roche 

Come,  don't  abuse  whisky.     I've  known  whisky  get  a  grocer 
knighted. 

Fitz. 

Sir,  a  King,  sir,  is  above  the  law,  sir.     Come,  give  us  your 
toast. 

Sand. 
Yes,  give  us  your  toast. 

Sirr 
Fill  fair,  now,  honest  man. 

[Roche  lines  up  the  three  glasses  and  fills  them  full] 

Fitz. 
Your  toast,  now. 

[  i33  1 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Roche 

Gentlemen,  I  give  you  a  toast — "  The  Trinity  of  Judas." — 
There,  sir,  is  yours;  there's  yours,  Major  Sandys;  there's  yours, 
Major  Sirr. 

[He  flings  the  glasses  one  by  one  into  the  faces  of  the  trio] 

Gentlemen,  I  am  Tiger  Roche.    I  hope  you  like  your  wine. 

Sirr 

Traitor!  Help  me,  you  two.  There  is  a  thousand  pounds 
reward. 

Fitz. 

My  religion  forbids  re — retaliation. 

Sand. 

[To  Roche.]  Well,  you  bully.  The  regiment's  coming. 
Then  we'll  see  about  Mr.  Tiger  Roche,  with  his  toasts  and  his 
Hebrew. 

[Sirr  tries  to  reach  his  sword] 

Roche 

[To  Sirr.]  I  should  be  sorry  to  have  your  blood  upon  my 
sword,  Major  Sirr. 

[Sirr  relapses] 

[To  Sandys.]  Now,  Mr.  Sandys,  about  your  regiment.  That 
is  not  your  regiment.  Your  regiment  is  a  red  ruin  at  Rathnew. 
Those  fifes  are  the  fifes  of  the  Friends  of  Ireland.  In  five  min- 
ute's time  I  hope  to  be  leading  them  to  Dublin. 

All 
What!    O  God,  we  are  lost! 

[134] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Roche 
Sit  down,  you  carrion. 

Sirr 
And  I've  a  wife  and  two  sons. 

Roche 
What!    Human  feeling  in  a  Sirr! 

Fitz. 

O  Mr.  Roche,  sir;    Captain  Roche,  sir.    Have  pity;  I  am  not 
fit  to  die. 

Roche 
Truth  from  a  Fitzpatrick! 

Sand. 

O  Captain  Roche.    You  shall  have  the  grey  mare.    Hevey's 
famous  mare,  that  won  the  trotting  match. 

Roche 
Generosity  in  a  Mr.  Major  Sandys. 

All 

O  Mr.  Roche,  we'll  reform.     O,  hide  us,  Mr.  Roche.     Not 
the  mob,  Mr.  Roche.    We  shall  be  torn  limb  from  limb. 

Roche 
Well,  you'd  better  get  up  that  chimney. 

Fitz. 
My  belly'll  never  go  up  there. 

[i35l 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Roche 
Well,  it  had  better  go  there. 

Sand. 

It  won't  hold  us  all.  You  must  stand  out,  Fitzpatrick.  Stand 
by,  Sirr.    I  go  first.    [He  gets  up  the  chimney.] 

SlRR 

O  God,  will  I  be  in  time?    [He  gets  up  the  chimney.] 
[The  fifes  sound  clearly] 

FlTZ. 

My  belly  will  bring  my  grey  hairs  in  sorrow  to  the  grave. 
O  you  inhuman  Sandys.  Help  me  up.  O,  help  me  up.  I'll 
squeeze  in  somehow.  O  Mr.  Roche,  help  me  up.  Do  now, 
kind  Mr.  Roche.  O,  I  shall  choke.  [He  gets  up  the  chimney.] 
[An  agonized  voice  from  the  chimney:]    Do  our  legs  show? 

[The  band  sounds  without.  Roche  gathers  up  their  papers 
in  a  pile.     Then  goes  to  the  window.] 

Roche 
Ho,  there.    Captain! 

Voice  Without 
What  d'ye  want? 

Roche 
Bring  in  a  file  of  men.    There  are  some  rebels  secreted  here. 
[The  troops  ground  arms  and  halt.    Enter  Captain  and  file] 

Captain 

Well,  sir,  where  are  the  rebels? 

[136] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Roche 

Sir,  I  hold  the  King's  Commission.  I  have  traced  these  rebels 
here.  Five  minutes  since  we  were  drinking  at  this  table.  They 
are  up  that  chimney.    Do  your  duty. 

Soldiers 

[Running  to  chimney.]  Here's  a  leg.  Here  they  are  all  right. 
Yank  them  down,  sons.  We'll  give  you  Killala  Bay.  We'll 
give  you  Erin-go-bragh.  In  the  neck  we'll  give  it  to  you.  [They 
pull  down  three  filthy,  blinking  scarecrows.] 

[As  they  wipe  the  soot  from  their  eyes  Roche  indicates  them] 

Roche 

This  [pointing  to  Sandys]  is  Mr.  Napper  Tandy.  This  [point- 
ing to  Sirr]  is  Captain  Tiger  Roche.  He  looks  a  tiger,  I  must 
say.  This  [pointing  to  Fitzpatrick]  is  that  arch-felon,  Mr. 
Wolfe  Tone.  Guard  them  carefully,  Captain.  They  are  worth 
some  seven  thousand  pounds. 

All  Three 

[Recognizing  the  King's  uniform  through  the  soot.]  Unhand  us, 
Captain.  We  are  the  King's  Justices.  That  man  there  is  the 
rebel.  That  is  Tiger  Roche,  Captain.  We  are  the  King's 
Justices. 

A  Soldier 

Bleeding  fine  Justices  the  King's  got,  then. 

A  Soldier 

You  and  your  Justices.  We'll  give  you  all  the  justice  you 
need.    An  ounce  of  lead  is  the  justice  you'll  get. 

[i37] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

All  Three 

Unhand  us,  will  you!  Captain!  What  are  you  doing.  That 
is  the  rebel.  That  is  Tiger  Roche.  Take  off  your  men.  We 
are  the  King's  Justices. 

Captain 

Fve  heard  that  song  before.  Shut  your  damned  seditious 
heads  or  I'll  make  you  chew  a  trooper's  cook. 

Roche 
[Smiling.]    What  in  the  world's  a  trooper's  cook?    Captain. 

Captain 

It's  a  piece  of  wood,  sir.  It's  all  the  cook  a  trooper  has.  Be- 
tween the  teeth,  it  is  an  effective  gag. 

All  Three 
But  hear  us,  Captain. 

A  Soldier 

Blimy!  Shut  your  heads.  Don't  you  hear  what  the  Captain 
tells  you? 

Sand. 
Damn  it,  Captain.    You  shall  suffer 


Fitz. 
If  there's  justice  in  Ireland. 

A  Soldier 

There's  no  justice  in  Ireland. 

[138] 


(THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 
SlRR 

But  there's  law,  sir.    And  you  shall  have  it. 

Captain 

Yes,  there's  law,  and  you  shall  have  it.    There's  man-o'-war 
law — "over  the  face  and  eyes." 

Sergeant 
Like  the  cat  give  the  monkey. 

Roche 

You've  secured  their  hands,  sir.     They  are  three  desperate 
felons. 

Sergeant 

Their  hands  won't  give  no  trouble. 

Captain 
[To  Roche.]    Well,  sir.    What  next? 

I  Roche 

[Writing  at  table.]     O,  march  them  into  Dublin — this  note  will 
explain — and  give  them  in  charge  to  General  Craig. 

Captain 
I  presume  you  will  come,  too,  sir. 

Roche 

I  will  follow  in  a  moment.     I  must  place  a  seal  on  these 
papers  I  have  found  here. 

[i39] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

The  Three  Justices 

That  proves  it,  Captain.  He's  the  rebel.  He's  Tiger  Roche. 
Don't  let  him  stay  behind,  Captain. 

Roche 

Captain,  remove  those  babblers.  Silence,  you  felons.  Give 
them  the  trooper's  cook.  Stay  a  moment.  Leave  a  file  of  men. 
They  can  bear  witness  to  my  sealing  the  papers. 

Captain 

I've  a  reputation  to  keep  up.  What!  Leave  my  men  in  a 
tavern?  No,  sir,  and  I'm  obliged  to  you.  The  hostess  will  be 
witness  enough.     Forward,  my  croppy  boys.     Quick  march. 

Roche 
But  you'll  have  a  drink  before  you  go,  Captain? 

Captain 
Not  in  working  hours,  thank  ye.     Now,  my  croppy  boys. 

The  Three 
You  shall  hang  for  this,  Captain. 

Captain 

There's  some  I  know  will  hang  too.  Quick  march,  I  say. 
[He  nods  to  Roche.]    I'll  see  you  later,  at  the  General's. 

Roche 

At  General  Craig's.  But  I  shall  probably  overtake  you  on 
the  road. 

[140] 


THE  SWEEPS  OF  NINETY-EIGHT 

Captain 

"We  will  meet  at  that  beautiful  shore."    Quick  march,  my 
sons. 

[Exeunt.     The  troops  pass  on] 

[A  pause,  during  which  Roche  watches  them  from  the  window] 

Roche 

Well,  the  fire's  out  and  the  guests  are  gone.     There's  only 
the  bill  to  pay.    [He  empties  a  purse  on  the  table.] 

[Enter  Hostess] 

Hostess 
The  boat  is  waiting  below,  sir. 

Roche 
It  is  good-bye,  then. 

Hostess 

You'll  be  coming  again,  sir.    There'll  be  other  friends  going 
the  same  road. 

Roche 

I  shall  be  too  old  when  they  try  again.     Good-bye. 

Now  with  his  useless  steel  the  beaten  rebel  goes 

To  that  proud  misery's  peace  no  victor  ever  knows. 

Written  in  1905, 


[141I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Tragedy  at  its  best  is  a  vision  of  the  heart  of  life.  The  heart 
of  life  can  only  be  laid  bare  in  the  agony  and  exultation  of  dread- 
ful acts.  The  vision  of  agony,  or  spiritual  contest,  pushed  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  dying  personality,  is  exalting  and  cleans- 
ing. It  is  only  by  such  vision  that  a  multitude  can  be  brought 
to  the  passionate  knowledge  of  things  exulting  and  eternal. 

Commonplace  people  dislike  tragedy,  because  they  dare  not 
suffer  and  cannot  exult.  The  truth  and  rapture  of  man  are 
holy  things,  not  lightly  to  be  scorned.  A  carelessness  of  life  and 
beauty  marks  the  glutton,  the  idler,  and  the  fool  in  their  deadly 
path  across  history. 

The  poetic  impulse  of  the  Renaissance  is  now  spent.  The 
poetic  drama,  the  fruit  of  that  impulse,  is  now  dead.  Until  a 
new  poetic  impulse  gathers,  playwrights  trying  for  beauty 
must  try  to  create  new  forms  in  which  beauty  and  the  high 
things  of  the  soul  may  pass  from  the  stage  to  the  mind.  Our 
playwrights  have  all  the  powers  except  that  power  of  exultation 
which  comes  from  a  delighted  brooding  on  excessive,  terrible 
things.  That  power  is  seldom  granted  to  man;  twice  or  thrice 
to  a  race  perhaps,  not  oftener.  But  it  seems  to  me  certain  that 
every  effort,  however  humble,  towards  the  achieving  of  that 
power  helps  the  genius  of  a  race  to  obtain  it,  though  the  obtain- 
ing may  be  fifty  years  after  the  strivers  are  dead. 

This  country  tragedy  was  written  at  Greenwich  in  February, 
March,  and  September,  1907.  Part  of  it  is  based  upon  some- 
thing which  happened  (as  I  am  told)  in  Kent  about  a  century 
ago.  As  I  am  ignorant  of  Kentish  country  people  I  placed 
the  action  among  a  people  and  in  a  place  well  known  to  me. 

John  Masefield. 

4th  April,  1911. 

[144] 


TO 

W.  B.  YEATS 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


PERSONS 

Jenny  Pargetter. 
Mrs.  Pargetter  . 
William  Pargetter 
Nan  Hardwick     . 
Dick  Gurvil 
Artie  Pearce 
Gaffer  Pearce     . 
Tommy  Arker 
Ellen 
Susan 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Drew 
Captain  Dixon 
The  Constable     . 


PLAYED  BY 

.     Miss  Mary  Jerrold 

.  Mrs.  A.  B.  Tapping 

.     Mr.  Horace  Hodges 

Miss  Lillah  McCarthy 

Mr.  A.  E.  Anson 

.  Mr.  Percy  Gawthorn 

.      Mr.  H.  R.  Hignett 

Mr.  Allan  Wade 

Miss  Marion  Nugent 

Miss  Bokenham 

Mr.  Edmund  Gurney 

.    Mr.  H.  Athol  Forde 

Mr.  Christmas  Grose 


This  play  was  produced  by  the  Pioneers  at  the  New  Royalty  Theatre,  on 
24th  May,  iQo8y  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  H.  Granville  Barker.  At  its  revival 
as  a  matinee  at  the  Haymarket  Theatre,  in  June,  1008,  the  part  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Drew  was  played  by  Mr.  Cecil  Brooking. 


ACT  I 

SCENE:  A  kitchen  in  the  house  of  a  small  tenant  farmer  at  Broad 
Oak,  on  Severn.     1810. 

[Mrs.  Pargetter  and  Jenny  rolling  dough  and  cutting  apples.} 
[Jenny  takes  flour  from  cupboard.] 

Jenny 
It  do  seem  quiet  'ere,  Mother,  after  service. 

Mrs.  P. 
P'raps  now  I'll  'ave  some  quiet. 

Jenny 

Only  think,  Mother,  the  ladies  'ad  cups  of  tea  in  bed  of  a 
morning. 

Mrs.  P. 

P'raps  now  you're  come  'ome,  I'll  'ave  my  cup  of  tea,  it's 
time  I'd  a  little  something  after  all  I  gone  through. 

Jenny 
Why,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 

What  with  that  girl — Mooning  round  with  'er  great  eyes. 

Jenny 
Do  'ee  mean  Cousin  Nan,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 
Mind  your  work,    I  wish  them  groceries'd  come. 

[147] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 

Us'll  'ardly  'ave  the  things  ready,  Mother.     Company  be 
coming  at  dark. 

Mrs.  P. 
Things'll  'ave  to  be  ready.    'Old  your  tongue. 

Jenny 
'Oo  be  coming,  Mother,  besides  Dick  Gurvil? 

Mrs.  P. 

Young  Artie  Pearce,  wold  Gaffer  Pearce,  them  girls  o'  Rob- 
ertses,  and  Tommy  Arker. 

Jenny 
Us  shall  be  quiet  a  pearty,  shan't  us? 

Mrs.  P. 

It  won't  be  much  of  a  pearty  to  me,  with  that  Nan  in  the 
room.     She  tokens  'er  dad  too  much. 

Jenny 
Why,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 

Always  so  prim  and  well  be'aved,  thinking  'erself  so  much 
better  than  anyone. 

Jenny 
Ah! 

Mrs.  P. 

Always  'elping  'er  friends  as  she  calls  them. 

[148] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 
'ElphV  them,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 

Barthin'  their  brats  for  'em.  'Oo  knows  what  dirt  they've 
been  playing  in?  Or  mending  their  linen.  Flying  in  the  face 
of  Providence.  She  might  bring  us  all  the  fever.  [Going  over  to 
get  a  chair  \  'Ow  many  more  times  am  I  to  tell  yer  I  won't  'ave 
your  things  left  about?    Look  'ere  at  this  chair. 

Jenny 
What  be  it,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 

Look  'ere  at  your  coat.  'Oo's  to  get  you  a  new  coat  when 
this  is  wore  out?  I  will  'ave  you  careful.  Every  day  of  my 
life  I'm  putting  your  clothes  away.     Idle  lawkamercy  girl 

Jenny 
That  ben't  mine,  Mother.    That  be  Cousin  Nan's. 

Mrs.  P. 

It's  a  wonder  you  couldn't  say  so  at  once.  Oh !  so  its  'ers,  is 
it.  Wot's  she  got  in  'er  pockets,  I  wonder.  [Looks  in  pockets.] 
Wot's  'ere.  Oh!  ribbons  for  our  white  neck,  indeed.  Wot's 
'ere.     Ho,  indeed.     [Taking  paper.] 

Jenny 
Wot's  that,  Mother,  a  letter? 

Mrs.  P. 
So  this  is  wot's  up,  is  it?    [She  glances  at  paper.] 

[  149 1 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Jenny 
[Peeping.]    It  looks  like  Dick  Gurvil's  'and,  Mother- 


Mrs.  P. 

You  'eed  your  duty.     [Puts  paper  in  her  own  pocket.]     I'll 
give  it  'er.    'Ere,  out  of  my  way.    None  of  your  rags  in  my  way. 

[Flinging  coat  into  a  corner.] 

Jenny 
Oh,  Mother,  it's  gone  into  the  pigwash. 

Mrs.  P. 
Wot  if  it  'as? 

Jenny 

She  won't  be  able  to  wear  it  again,  Mother.    Never. 

Mrs.  P. 

Let  'er  go  cold.    Learn  'er  not  to  leave  'er  things  about. 
Where  are  you  going  now  ? 

Jenny 

I  was  just  going  to  hang  it  out,  Mother. 

Mrs.  P. 

Don't  you  dare  to  touch  it.     Stand  'ere  and  do  your  work. 
Let  that  dirty  gallus  bird  do  'er  own  chores. 

Jenny 
Whatever  do  'ee  mean,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 
A  gallus  bird;  that's  all  she  is. 

['■0*1 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 
Cousin  Nan,  Mother.    Why  do  'ee  call  'er  that? 

Mrs.  P. 
Oh,  p'raps  your  Father  'aven't  a-told  you. 

Jenny 
No,  Mother. 

Mrs.  P. 

Run  and  see  if  that  be  Dick  with  the  groceries. 

Jenny 
[Goes  to  window.]    No,  Mother. 

Mrs.  P. 

Drat  'im.  Well,  this  mustn't  go  beyond  yer — it  ain't  to  be 
known  about.  'Er  father — your  cousin  Nan's  father — wot 
married  your  father's  sister 

Jenny 
Yes,  Mother. 

Mrs.  P. 

Don't  interrup'  when  your  Mother's  talking  to  yer.  'Er 
father,  as  she's  so  stuck  on —  'E  was  'ung. 

Jenny 
'Ung,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 
At  Glorster  ja-il. 

Jenny 

Whatever  'ad  'e  gone  for  to  do? 

[151 J 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
'E  stole  a  sheep.    That's  wot  'e  did. 

Jenny 
And  so  'e  were  'ung 

Mrs.  P. 

There's  a  thing  to  'appen  in  a  family. 

Jenny 
So  be  that  why  Nan  come  'ere? 

Mrs.  P. 
Thanks  to  your  father. 

Jenny 

I  didn't  think,  when  I  left  service  I  should  'sociate  with  no 
gallus  birds. 

Mrs.  P. 

Nor  you  wouldn't  if  your  father  was  in  'is  right  mind.  The 
Lord  'ath  laid  a  'eavy  judgmink  on  your  father.  Wot  'e  wants 
with  'er  I  can't  think. 

Jenny 

Her  may  remind  he  of  Auntie. 

Mrs.  P. 

'E's  no  call  to  be  reminded  of  any  woman,  'cept  'er  the  Lord 
'ath  bound  to  'im.  Wot  I  gorn  through  with  that  Nan  in  the 
'ouse'd  a  kill  a  Zebedee.    They  do  say  they  be  'ard  to  kill. 

Jenny 
'Ere  be  Father  coming. 

[152] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
'E  'as  'is  lunch  of  a  mornin'  now.    Take  'is  cider  off  the  'ob. 

Jenny 

Where's  'is  bread  and  cheese?    [She  takes  mug  off  hob,  looks 
about  carelessly,  and  drops  and  smashes  mug  on  hearth.] 

Mrs.  P. 
There  now. 

Jenny 

Oh,  Mother,  I've  broke  it. 

Mrs.  P. 
What  a  clumsy  'and  you  'ave. 

Jenny 
It's  Father's  fav'rit  mug.    O  Mother,  whatever  will  'e  say. 

Mrs.  P. 
'Ere.    Get  upstairs.    Get  into  the  next  room. 

Jenny 
Whatever  will  'e  say!    'E  will  be  mad.     {Cries.) 

Mrs.  P. 

I'll  talk  'im  round.    There!    It's  all  a  accident.    Quick!  before 
'e  comes  now. 

Jenny 

'E  will  be  that  mad!    A  dear,  a  dear!    {Goes  out.) 

[iS3] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Mrs.  P. 


[Taking  out  letter.]  So  this  is  wot  it's  come  to:  [Declaiming.] 
Dick  Gurvil  to  'is  fond  beloved: 

"As  I  was  a-walking  a  lady  I  did  meet 

I  knew  it  for  my  true  love  by  the  roses  on  'er  cheek 

The  roses  on  'er  cheek  so  sweetly  did  grow 

My  'eart  out  of  my  bosom,  like  a  engine  did  go." 

I'll  watch  yer  Master  Dick. 

[Enter  Mr.  Pargetter,  walking  with  a  stick.  He  is  an  old, 
shortish  thickset  man,  still  hale.] 

Mr.  P. 

[Advancing  towards  Mrs.  P.  and  gravely  saluting.]  Well, 
Mother. 

Mrs.  P. 
Did  you  see  the  fiddler? 

Mr.  P. 
I  saw  the  fiddler. 

Mrs.  P. 
Is  'e  coming  to-night? 

Mr.  P. 

'E  is  coming.  Us  be  going  to  'ave  great  wonders  to-night. 
'Ot  mutton  parsty  pies. 

Mrs.  P. 

You  won't  eat  of  no  'ot  mutton  parsty  pies.  You  know  'ow 
that  sheep  died  as  well  as  I  do.  'E  was  oovy.  [Pause.]  A 
apple  parsty's  no  great  wonders. 

Mr.  P. 
A  fiddler  and  a  apple  parsty's  wonders. 

[154] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 

It'll  fare  to  be  a  girt  wonder  if  th'  apple  parsty  be  set.  The 
amount  of  'elp  I  get  in  the  'ousework 

Mr.  P. 
At  it  again. 

Mrs.  P. 

Yes,  I  am  at  it  again,  as  you  call  it. 

Mr.  P. 
What  is  it,  now? 

Mrs.  P. 

'Ow  much  longer  'ave  I  got  to  put  up  with  that  Nan  in  the 
'ouse  ? 

Mr.  P. 

My  niece  Nan'll  stay  in  this  'ouse  till — till  I  go  to  church- 
yard. Or — till  she  marries.  [A  pause.]  Now  you  know  my 
mind.  The  girl's  a  good  girl,  if  you'd  let  up  in  your  naggin' 
'er  'ed  off. 

Mrs.  P. 
Naggin',  Will? 

Mr.  P. 

'Ow's  any  girl  to  be  good  with  you  naggin'  'er  'ed  off  all  day 
long. 

Mrs.  P. 

When  did  I  ever  nag,  as  you  call  it  ? 

Mr.  P. 

When?  'Ave  you  ever  give  'er  a  kind  word  since  she  come 
'ere. 

[iSSl 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 

I  'ave  my  'eavenly  warrant  for  all  I  done,  Will.  Them  as 
the  Lord  afflicts  we  must  come  out  from  and  be  ye  separate. 

0 

Mr.  P. 
I  wonder  the  Lord  can  let  you  prosper,  talking  like  that. 

Mrs.  P. 
'E  knows  'is  own,  Will.    You  mark  my  words. 

Mr.  P. 

I  will  mark  'em.  And  you  mark  mine.  You'll  treat  my  niece 
Nan  as  you'd  treat  your  daughter  Jenny. 

Mrs.  P. 

Our  daughter  Jenny  is  the  child  of  respectable  parents. 
That — that  charity  girl  is  the  daughter  of 

Mr.  P. 
My  sister.    That's  'oo  she's  the  daughter  of. 

Mrs.  P. 

And  a  thief  'oo  was  'ung.  I've  always  been  respectable; 
and  I've  always  kep'  my  girl  respectable.  I  will  not  'ave  to  do 
with  the  common  and  the  unclean. 

Mr.  P. 

You'll  'ave  Nan  'ere,  and  you'll  stop  your  nagging  jealous 
tongue. 

Mrs.  P. 
Jealous? 

[156] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Mr.  P. 


Yes,  jealous.  You  make  'er  life  a  burden  acos  she  tokens  my 
sister.  You  was  sweet  on  'er  dad  yourself.  That's  why  you 
make  'er  life  a  burden. 

Mrs.  P. 
Ho,  indeed!    Ha,  ha,  ha!    Wot  notions. 

Mr.  P. 

That's  the  truth  though.  I  know  yer.  I  seen  somethink 
of  yer  in  these  twenty  years. 

Mrs.  P. 

'Ark  you  to  me,  Will  Pargetter.  Could  you  look  on  and  see 
your  daughter  wronged? 

Mr.  P. 
What's  that  got  to  do  with  it? 

Mrs.  P. 
I'll  tell  you.    When  first  we  'ad  that  charity  girl  'ere 

Mr.  P. 

You  call  'er  Nan.  Wot  are  you  waivin'  that  bit  of  paper  at 
me  for? 

Mrs.  P. 

We  'ad  'opes  as  our  Jenny'd  marry  Dick  Gurvil  soon  as  she 
come  back  from  service. 

Mr.  P. 
That  depended  on  Dick,  not  on  Jenny. 

[iS7] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Mrs.  P. 


Oh,  but  Dick  was  no  difficulty.    They  kep'  company  before 
Jenny  went  to  service.    Dick  was  sweet  on  'er  all  right. 

Mr.  P. 
Dick  was  sweet  on  twenty  girls. 

Mrs.  P. 

No.     Since  that — that  idle  mooner  come  'ere — Dick's  been 
sweet  on  'er.    Look  'ere.    Look  at  this.    [Shows  letter.] 

Mr.  P. 

I  don't  want  no  letter.     Put  it  where  yer  got  it.    That's  the 
best  thing  I  ever  'eard  of  Dick.    Dick  wants  a  wife  with  sense. 

Mrs.  P. 

You'll  let  'er  marry  'im,  after  'is  carrying  on  along  o'  Jenny. 
And  break  your  own  daughter's  'art. 

Mr.  P. 
Jenny's  got  no  'art. 

Mrs.  P. 

Jenny'd  resolve  'er  'eavenly    crown   for  Dick  Gurvil.     'Ow 
dare  you  blacken  your  own  child? 

Mr.  P. 

Blacken  'er.     She's    a   cold    'eartless   little  baggage,  Jenny 
is.    Our  Nan's  worth  a  'undred  of  'er. 

[158] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Mrs.  P. 


And  you  expect  me  to  see  that  great-eyed,  ugly,  scrawf  marry- 
ing my  daughter's  man. 

Mr.  P. 

He's  not  your  daughter's  man.  Dick's  everybody's  daughter's 
man.  If  'e  steps  up  and  marries  our  Nan — it'll  be  the  making 
of  'im.    Give  me  my  lunch. 

Mrs.  P. 

Ah!  I  was  forgetting.  You  put  me  out  of  patience.  I'm 
afraid  I  spoke  'asty,  Will.     I've  a  'asty  tongue  [with  suavity]. 

Mr.  P. 
There,  there!    Where's  my  vittles? 

[She  puts  down  bread  and  cheese] 
[Pargetter  gets  up  to  fetch  mug  from  the  hob] 

Mr.  P. 

Thank  ye,  Mother.  [He  sees  the  mug  broken.]  Law,  Mother. 
You  'aven't  a  broke  my  Toby. 

Mrs.  P. 
There,  there  now,  Will,  it  was  a  accidenk. 

Mr.  P. 
Not  my  Toby,  broken? 

Mrs.  P. 

It  was  a  accidenk.     [She  picks  up  the  pieces.] 

[i59] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mr.  P. 
'Ooever  'ave  a  broke  my  Toby.    Why  weren't  I  told  to  onst? 

Mrs.  P. 
She  were  goin'  to  tell  yer,  she  said. 

Mr.  P. 
Not — not  Nan?    It  wasn't  Nan  broke  it? 

Mrs.  P. 
'Er  said  'er'd  tell  you  to  onst.    It  was  a  accidenk. 

Mr.  P. 
But  no  accidenk  could  a  broke  my  Toby. 

Mrs.  P. 
There,  there.    Us'll  buy  another's  good  as  'er. 

Mr.  P. 

But  I've  a  'ad  my  zider  outen  ov  'er  this  fifty  year,  like  my 
gran'fer  'ave  a  done.    Pd  a  value  for  that  Toby. 

Mrs.  P. 

'Er'll  tell  'ee  'ow  it  was.  It  was  a  accidenk.  She  was  in  a 
'urry,  you  see.  Getting  things  ready  for  the  pearty.  It  was 
quite  a  accidenk. 

Mr.  P. 

'Ow  could  it  be  quite  a  accidenk? 

[160] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 

'Er   'ands   were   wet,    you    see;    she's    particular  about  'er 

'ands 

Mr.  P. 

Clumsy  'anded 

Mrs.  P. 

They  was  all  soapy  from  washing.    It  was  quite  a  accidenk. 

Mr.  P. 
And  so  she  let  it  slip. 

Mrs.  P. 

She  didn't  see  where  she  was  going.  The  sun  was  in  'er  eyes 
or  somethink.    She's  goin'  to  tell  yer  'ow  it  was. 

Mr.  P. 

My  wold  Toby  jug  as  Granfer  'ad.  'Er  could  a  broak  my 
'eart  sooner.  'Er  could.  'Er  could.  [He  pushes  away  his  bread 
and  cheese.]  I  can't  eat  my  vittles  after  that.  That  I  can't. 
Careless  girt  gowk! 

[Enter  Nan — Old  Pargetter  stares  at  her  hard  all  through 
this  scene.] 

Nan 
You  be  back  early,  Uncle. 

Mrs.  P. 
Well? 

Nan 
Yes,  Aunt. 

Mrs.  P. 

"Yes,  aunt."  'Ave  you  looked  at  yourself  long  enough  in 
the  glass? 

[161] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
What  glass? 

Mrs.  P. 
The  glass  upstairs. 

Nan 

The  beds  are  made.    I  suppose  that's  what  you  mean. 

Mrs.  P. 
That's  not  the  way  to  talk  before  your  uncle. 

Nan 
May  I  help  you  cut  them  apples,  Aunt? 

Mrs.  P. 

No,  you  mayn't  'elp  me  cut  these  apples.    You  get  your  own 
work. 

Nan 
I've  done  all  my  work,  Aunt. 

Mrs.  P. 
None  of  your  impudence.     [Very  sharply.] 

Nan 
I  have. 

Mrs.  P. 

If  you  'ave,  it's  not  done  properly  I  know.    I've  a  good  mind 
to  make  you  do  it  over.    A  very  good  mind. 

Nan 

Is  that  the  dough  for  the  pasty? 

[162] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
None  'o  yer  business. 

[Nan  picks  up  a  rolling  pin] 

Put  down  that  pin  when  you're  told. 

Nan 
I  wish  you'd  let  me  'elp,  Aunt?    Comp'ny  be  coming  at  dark. 

Mrs.  P. 

What's  it  to  do  with  you?    I  know  w'en  comp'ny's  coming 
without  your  dinnin'  it  into  me. 

[Nan  goes  softly  to  the  dresser] 

Wot  are  you  creepin'  about  on  tiptoe  for?     One'd  think  you 
were  a  thief,  like  your  father. 

Nan 
[Meekly.]    I  didn't  want  to  disturve  you,  Aunt. 

Mrs.  P. 
Disturve  me!    You  couldn't  disturve  me  more  if  you  tried. 

Nan 
I'm  sorry,  Aunt. 

Mrs.  P. 

You  know  that  perfectly  well. 

Nan 
I'm  sorry,  Aunt. 

Mrs.  P. 

'Ere,  you  give  me  the  fidgets. 

[163] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
'Ave  you  one  of  your  sick  headaches,  Aunt? 

Mrs.  P. 

You  give  me  the  sick  'edache.  One  would  think  you  might 
'ave  'ad  a  little  gratitood. 

Nan 

When  I  was  grateful  you  called  me  a  'ipocrit. 

Mrs.  P. 
Oh !      When  was  you  grateful,  as  you  call  it  ? 

Nan 

When  I  first  come  'ere.  I  did  my  best,  I  did.  I  thought  you'd 
like  me  if  I  work'  'ard,  and  'elped  you. 

Mrs.  P. 
Did  yer  think! 

Nan 

I  used  to  make  you  tea  afore  you  got  up  of  a  morning:  I  wash 
up  the  dinner  things,  so  as  you  could  'ave  your  nap  of  a  after- 
noon. I  never  let  you  do  the  week's  washing,  not  once,  since  I 
come  'ere. 

Mrs.  P. 

One  'ud  expect  a  little  something.  After  all  that's  been  done 
for  you. 

Nan 

Done  for  me!    What  have  you  ever  done  for  me? 

Mrs.  P. 
Given  you  a  'ome. 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
A  home? 

Mrs.  P. 

There's  not  many  would  'ave  took  in  a  girl  'er  dad  being 
'ung.    But  I  says  to  your  Uncle 

Nan 

I  know  what  you  said  to  Uncle.  That  the  Rector  'ad  asked 
you  to  take  me  in.  That's  what  you  said  to  Uncle.  You  was 
afeared  the  Rector'd  let  it  be  known  if  you  refused.  You  was 
afeared  folk'd  get  to  know  you  for  what  you  are.  That's  why 
you  took  me  in.  [More  softly.]  D'ye  think  I  don't  know,  Aunt. 
I  feel  I  do.  [Pause.]  And  down  in  the  shop  they  tell  me  what  a 
friend  you've  been  to  me.  "Mrs.  Pargetter  'ave  been  kind  tiv 
ee,"  they  say.  And  Mrs.  Drew  at  the  Rectory.  She's  another. 
"'Ow  grateful  you  must  feel  towards  your  aunt."  That's  what 
she  says.  And  you  smile.  You  take  it  all  in  smiling.  You 
lick  your  lips  over  all  their  praise.  Or  you  play  the  martyr. 
You  play  the  martyr.  D'ye  think  I  haven't  heard  you?  "A 
lot  of  return  I  get,"  that's  what  you  say.  They  praise  you  for 
being  good  to  me.  Good!  You!  And  you  make  my  life  here  a 
hell.  You  lick  your  lips  to  make  life  hell  to  me.  And  you  tell 
lies  about  me.    You  mean  woman.    You  so  holy,  you  tell  lies. 

Mr.  P. 

[Angrily.]  Now  none  of  that  now.  That's  enough.  You 
leave  the  room. 

Mrs.  P. 

No,  she'll  not  leave  the  room.  I'll  learn  'er  to  be' ave  first. 
[To  Nan.]  I'd  'ave  you  remember  as  your  daily  bread  as 
you're  so  fond  of  is  give  you  by  me  and  your  Uncle. 

[i6S] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
Given  me? 

Mrs.  P. 

Per'aps  you'll  deny  as  you  'ave  your  food — God  knows  you 
eat  enough. 

Nan 

And  every  morsel  bitter.  Bitter.  You  make  it  burn  in  my 
throat. 

Mrs.  P. 
And  a  roof  over  you  'ed,  which  is  more  than  your  merits. 

Nan 
So  'as  a  man  in  a  prison  a  roof. 

Mrs.  P. 

Yes.  You're  right.  'E  'as  till  'e's  'ung.  And  you  'ave  your 
clothes.  The  very  clothes  on  your  back.  Talking  of  clothes, 
that  reminds  me.  Take  that  dirty  coat  of  yours  out  of  the  pig- 
wash where  you  put  it.  I  suppose  you  want  to  poison  the  pigs 
next. 

Nan 

[Turning  to  pig  wash  trow.]  Oh!  'Oo've  bin  and  done  that? 
[At  the  point  of  tears.]  I  suppose  you  think  it  funny  to  spoil  a 
poor  girl's  clothes.  And  now  it's  spoiled.  [She  takes  ribbon 
from  pocket.]  And  this  is  spoiled.  What  I'd  saved  up  for.  Now 
I  shan't  have  any.  You  put  that  in  the  trow.  You  know  you 
did. 

Mrs.  P. 

You  say  I  put  your  dirty  things  in  the  trow  and  I'll  put  you 

[166] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

in.    Talk  like  that  to  me,  will  yer?    One  of  these  days  I'll  give 
you  the  cart  whip,  like  what  you  deserve. 

Nan 

[Turning  to  hide  tears].  You  read  your  Bible,  and  you  go  to 
church,  and  you  do  a  thing  like  that.  You  put  a  poor  girl's  coat 
in  the  trow  and  as  good  as  deny  it  afterwards. 

Mr.  P. 

Now  come,  come,  come.  'Ow  d'yer  expect  to  be  ready  for 
to-night?    Let's  'ave  no  more  catanddoggin'  here. 

Mrs.  P. 

I'm  not  talking  to  you.  'Old  yer  peace.  [Furiously  at  inter- 
ruption.] I'm  talking  to  you.  [To  Nan.]  You're  a  black,  proud, 
ungrateful  cat.  Wot  your  'eart'll  look  like  on  the  Day  of  Judg- 
mink  beats  me. 

Nan 

Oh !      [Contemptuously — she  opens  out  the  sopping  coat.] 

Mrs.  P. 

I'll  give  yer  "oh."  'Ere.  Don't  go  dripping  the  pigwash  all 
about  the  place.  You  drop  it.  Give  it  to  me  'ere — 'ere.  [She 
snatches  at  the  coat  and  tries  to  wrench  it  from  Nan's  hands.] 

Nan 
Don't  you  dare  to  touch  it.    Let  go  of  it. 

Mrs.  P. 
Will  yer.    Leggo  now. 

urn 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Nan 


I  won't.  No  you  don't.  You'll  tear  it  in  another  minute. 
I'll  kill  you  if  you  tear  it. 

Mrs.  P. 
Wot'll  you? 

Nan 
I'll  kill  you.    I'll  kill  you. 

Mrs.  P. 

[Putting  both  hands  to  the  coat  and  wrenching  it  free;  then  slash- 
ing it  into  Nan's  face.]  I'll  show  you  'oo's  mistress  'ere,  my 
lady.  Now — see.  [She  tears  the  collar  off  and  stamps  on  it.] 
There.     You'll  do  what  you're  told  'ere,  my  lady. 

[Nan  holds  table  and  glares  at  her  aunt  then  picks  up  the  cutting 
knife.] 

Nan 

[Slowly.]    My  dad  gave  me  that  coat.     [A  pause.]    My  dad. 

Mrs.  P. 
Mind,  Will,  she's  got  the  knife  in  'er  'and. 

Mr.  P. 

[Going  to  her.]  Give  me  thicky  knife.  [He  takes  it  from  her.] 
No  temper  'ere.  I've  got  one  score  against  you  already.  Wot's 
come  to  you  to-day? 

Mrs.  P. 

The  devil's  come  to  'er.    She's  pretty  near  tore  my  arm  off. 

Nan 
[Slowly.]    You  be  careful. 

[168] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
But  I'll  teach  yer. 

Nan. 
You  be  careful. 

Mr.  P. 

Nan,  you  go  to  your  room. 

[Nan  sullenly  picks  up  the  torn  coat  and  then  bursts  into  tears] 

Nan 

My  dad  give  me  this  coat.  It's  a  dear  coat.  [She  smooths 
out  the  torn  and  crumpled  stuff.]  And  now  it's  all  torn.  [The 
Pargetters  watch  her  with  a  sort  of  hard  scorn.]  I'll  never 
be  able  to  wear  en  again.  Oh,  my  dad,  I  wish  I  was  dead.  I 
wish  I  was  dead. 

Mr.  P. 

No  sinful  talk  like  that,  now.    I  won't  'ave  it. 

Nan 
Uncle!    I  'ave  tried,  I  'ave,  Uncle. 

Mr  P. 

Don't  turn  to  me,  girl.  You'd  ought  to  turn  to  God — giving 
way  to  the  devil — No — and  you've  not  been  straight.  If  you'd 
told  me  at  once  I'd  'ave  let  it  pass.  Though  I  felt  it.  [A  pause, 
then  testily.]    Come  now,  be  straight.    That's  above  all  things. 

[A  pause,  Nan  sobs] 
Eh? 

[Nan  sobs] 

Mr.  P. 

[Rising.]    'Aven't  you  something  to  tell  me? 

[169] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
No!    No! 

Mr.  P. 

[Grimly.]    I  thought  you  'ad.    [Turning.] 

Nan 
Oh,  Uncle!    Do  'ee. 

Mr.  P. 

[Going].    I  didn't  think  it  of  you. 

Nan 


Uncle. 

I  didn't  think  it. 

Mr.  P. 

[Exit] 

Mrs.  P. 

[Going  up 
Bible. 

to  her.] 

I'll 

make  your 

Nan 

belly 

bitter, 

like 

in  the 

You!    Oh! 
'ee,  I  do. 

[Turns 

•  from  her.]     Oh, 
Mrs.  P. 

Dad, 

I  wish  1 

[  were  with 

[Bitterly.]  You'll  spoil  yer  looks  for  to-night,  I  shouldn't 
wonder.  You  won't  'ave  yer  young  men  neighing  after  yer. 
Dirty  'ogs. 

[Nan  picks  up  apples  and  begins  to  cut  them,  still  crying] 

Mrs.  P. 

I'll  watch  you  with  your  young  men!  I'm  not  going  to  'ave 
no  mothers  coming  round  complaining. 

[170] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
[Slowly.]    I  'ope  you  may  never  feel  wot  I  feel. 
[Enter  Jenny] 

Jenny 
Mawther! 

Mrs.  P. 
'Ush! 

Jenny 

There  be  Dick's  trap  with  the  groceries. 

Mrs.  P. 
Time  too.    'Ere  [to  Nan]  go  and  get  them! 

Nan 
Me? 

Mrs.  P. 

Yes,  you.    'Oo  else.     Do  something  for  your  living  for  once 
in  a  way. 

[Exit  Nan] 

Jenny 
Mother,  wot  'ave  Dad  say? 

Mrs.  P. 
'Ush  yer  tongue.    I've  made  that  right. 

Jenny 
O  mother.    I  thort  Vd  'ave  my  'ed  off  for  it. 

[171] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Mrs.  P. 


Never  you  'eed  of  that.     I've  somethink  else  to  say  to  you. 
That  girl,  Nan 

Jenny 
Wot,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 

[Speaking  very  rapidly.]    You  better  watch  out  she  don't  tread 
a  thy  corns,  as  well  as  thy  mother's  she've  a  done. 

Jenny 
Wot  do  'ee  mean,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 
Dick  GurviPs  'oo  I  mean. 

Jenny 
Oh! 

Mrs.  P. 
Yes,  Dick  Gurvil !    SheVe  set  'er  cap  at  Dick. 

Jenny 
Oh! 

Mrs.  P. 

[Mimicking.]    Oh!    Oh!    Yes,  and  Dick  be  sweet  on  'er. 

Tenny 
I  don't  care,  Mother. 

Mrs.  P. 
Yes,  you  do  care.    'Ave  done  o'  your  folly. 

[172] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 
Dick  can  please  'isself  so  far  as  I'm  concerned,  I'm  sure. 

Mrs.  P. 

No  'e  can't  please  'isself,  as  you  call  it.  'Oo  else'd  yer  get  if 
you  lose  'im  ?  You  take  a  man  when  you  can  get  'im.  There 
ain't  too  many,  let  me  tell  yer. 

Jenny 
I  do-an't  care,  I'm  sure.    I  don't  want  no  men. 

Mrs.  P. 

Don't  you  want.  You  listen  to  me.  You  got  ter  want. 
Whether  you  like  or  not.  I  ain't  goin'  to  'ave  you  the  talk  of 
the  town. 

Jenny 

Lor,  Mother!    I  didn't  think  of  that. 

Mrs.  P. 
No,  I  know  you  didn't  think. 

Jenny 
Lor,  mother. 

Mrs.  P. 

'Oo  'ad  'er  man  took  by  a  gallus-bird. 

Jenny 
Would  they  say  that,  Mother? 

Mrs.  P. 
'Oo's  she  to  take  Dick  Gurvil  ?    If  you'd  any  pride 

[i73l 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 
Be  you  sure  she  be  a-trying  for  Dick? 

Mrs.  P. 
Well,  you  best  find  out. 

Jenny 
I'll  watch  it,  I  will. 

Mrs.  P. 

[As  Nan  enters.]  Ah!  you'd  a  better!  Now  I  got  to  see  to 
the  'ouse  work.  I'll  expect  you  to  'ave  everythink  ready  against 
I  come  back.  [To  Nan.]  You  may  think  as  you're  someone. 
I'll  learn  you  different.  None  o'  your  tricks,  'ere.  No!  Nor 
none  of  your  mother's  carryings  on  (a  pause)  with  men.  That's 
wot  I  mean.  .  .  .    Gallus  bird. 

[She  goes  out,  Nan  draws  a  chair  to  the  table — Jenny  is  already 
seated — and  begins  to  cut  apples.  She  is  crying.  She  gathers  the 
torn  coat  together  tenderly.] 

Jenny 
Never  mind  Mother,  Nan.    She  don't  mean  nothin'! 

Nan 
I  don't 

Jenny 
She  be  only  put  out  by  'avin'  comp'ny  to-night. 

Nan 
It's  not!    It's  not!    Oh,  she'd  ought  to  leave  my  father. 

[174] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 

There,  there  now — let  I  get  'ee  some  warm  waiter  off  the  'ob. 
Your  eyes'U  be  as  red  as  red. 

Nan 
I  don't  care,  1  don't  care. 

Jenny 

Why,  come  now.  Us  be  going  to  be  girt  friends,  us  be,  ben't 
us?    Mother  be  a 'ard  woman  to  please.    But  'er  don't  mean  it. 

Nan 

Her  do  speak  so  bitter.  They  be  all  against  me!  The  'ole 
world  be  against  me. 

Jenny 

[With  bowl  of  water  and  a  handkerchief.]  Do  'ee  jest  mop  thy 
eyes.    Or  let  I. 

Nan 

It  be  kind  of  you  to  trouble.    What  a  girt  silly  I  be  to  cry  so! 

Jenny 

Your  eyes'll  be  as  red.  Come,  come!  There  be  'andsome 
young  men  a-comin'.  I  wouldn't  wonder  as  they  be  all  sweet  on 
you!    I  wouldn't  wonder  as  you'd  'ave  a  sweet'eart  some  Easter. 

Nan 
A  sweet'eart!    A  charity  girl! 

Jenny 

Don't  take  it  to  'eart.  Us  be  goin'  to  be  friends,  ben't  us, 
dear? 

[i75l 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
It  be  kind  of  you  to  speak  kind. 

Jenny 

And  us'll  go  out  of  a  Sunday.  Why,  us'll  be  girt  friends.  It 
go  to  my  'eart  to  think  of  thy  trouble. 

Nan 
Will  'ee  be  a  friend,  cousin  Jenny? 

Jenny 

There,  there.  Wot  pretty  eyes  you  'ave.  Your  'air's  thicker 
than  mine.  'Ow  you  do  a  set  it  off.  Us'll  'ave  no  secrets,  will 
us? 

Nan 

'Ee  will  be  my  friend,  won't  'ee,  Jenny  ?  Do-an't  'ee  be  agen 
me — I  couldn't  bear  it  if  you  turned  against  me.  I've  sometimes 
been  near  killing  myself  since  I  came  here.  Your  Mother's  been 
that  bitter  to  me. 

Jenny 
Don't  'ee  say  such  things. 

Nan 
Jenny,  I'll  tell  'ee  why  I  didn't  kill  myself. 

Jenny 
Lord,  Nan,  doa-n't  'ee. 

Nan 

I  want  'ee  to  bear  with  me,  Jenny.    I'll  tell  'ee  why  I  didn't 

[176] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

kill  myself.  I  thought  .  .  .  there  .  .  .  it's  only  nonsense. 
Did  you  ever  think  about  men,  Jenny?  About  loving  a  man? 
About  marriage? 

Jenny 

I've  'oped  to  'ave  a  'ome  of  my  own.    And  not  to  be  a  burden 
'ere  and  that. 

Nan 

Ah!    But  about  'elping  a  man? 

Jenny 
A  man  'as  strength.    'E  ought  to  'elp  a  woman. 

Nan 
I  could  'elp  a  man,  Jenny. 

Jenny 
Wot  ideyers  you  do  'ave! 

Nan 
When  a  girl's  'eart  is  breaking,  Jenny,  she  'as  ideyers. 

Jenny 
Ah! 

Nan 
Jenny ! 

Jenny 
Yes,  Nan? 

Nan 

I've  never  talked  to  a  woman  like  this  afore.     I  felt  I'd  die 
if  I  couldn't  talk  to  someone. 

[i77] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 
I  know,  exackly! 

Nan 

When  I  see  you  so  kind,  and  you  so  pretty,  Jenny,  I  felt  I 
must  speak. 

Jenny 

Do  you  think  me  pretty,  Nan  ? 

Nan 
Yes,  Jenny. 

Jenny 
In  service  they  thought  me  pretty.    All  but  cook. 

Nan 
You  are  pretty,  Jenny. 

Jenny 

Cook  was  a  unpleasant  old  thing.  She  did  'er  'air  in  papers. 
No  ladies  do  their  'air  in  papers!  Ow!  she  was  'orrid  of  a  morn- 
ing. O!  the  waste  I  see  go  on  in  that  'ouse.  They  'ad  pastry 
every  day.  And  the  ladies  had  milk  and  biscuits  at  eleven  of 
a  morning. 

Nan 
You  must  tell  me  all  your  secrets,  Jenny. 

Jenny 
That  I  will.    And  will  'ee  tell  I  all  yourn? 

Nan 
If  you  like,  Jenny. 

[178] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 
And  will  'ee  tell  I  when  you  'ave  a  sweet'eart? 

Nan 
Ah !    A  sweet'eart.    You  must  tell  me  about  yours,  Jenny. 

Jenny 
Ah !    I  ain't  got  one  yet. 

Nan 
9 Aven't  you,  Jenny  ? 

Jenny 

Noa.    Not  one  special  like. 

Nan 

You'll  'ave  one  soon,  Jenny.  O  Jenny,  I  hope  you'll  be  very 
'appy. 

Jenny 

Love  be  queer,  ben't  it?  The  things  it  makes  people  do. 
Could  'ee  fancy  a  man,  Nan? 

Nan 
Perhaps. 

Jenny 

Ugly  girt  scrawfs,  I  think  they  be. 

Nan 
Not  all  of  them. 

Jenny 

Perhaps  you  'ave  a  fancy,  Nan?  'Ave you,  dear.  'Ave  you? 
'Oo  be  it,  Nan?  Tell  me,  dearie.  I  wouldn't  tell  a  single  soul. 
Tell  me,  Nan.    You  said  as  you'd  'ave  no  secrets  from  me. 

[i79] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
Ah! 

Jenny 
Is  it  anyone  I  know? 

[Nan  goes  to  her  and  puts  an  arm  round  her  and  kisses  her] 

Nan 
Yes,  dear. 

Jenny 
Be  it  Artie  Pearce? 

Nan 
No,  Jenny. 

Jenny 

'Oo  be  it.    It  be  a  shame  not  to  tell  me! 

Nan 
Jenny  dear? 

Jenny 
Yes,  Nan.    Tell  me  now.    Whisper. 

Nan 
It  be  Dick  Gurvil,  Jenny. 

Jenny 
Dick  Gurvil? 

Nan 

I  love  him.    I  love  him. 

Jenny 

Do  you  love  him  very  much? 

[180] 


JHE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
It  feel  like  my  'eart  was  in  flower,  Jenny. 

Jenny 

Ah!  It  must.  [A  pause]  I  'ope  you'll  be  very  'appy.  You 
and  Mr.  Gurvil. 

Nan 
God  bless  you,  Jenny. 

Jenny 

What  eyes  you  have  got,  cousin  Nan.  To  think  of  you  fancy- 
ing Dick!    It  be  nice  to  'ave  you  for  a  friend,  cousin  Nan. 

Nan 
Kiss  me,  dear.    You've  never  kissed  me. 

Jenny 

There!  Go  and  bathe  thy  eyes,  Nan.  They'll  be  red  if  'ee 
don't.  'Ee  mustn't  'ave  them  red  for  Dick  to-night.  Bathe 
'em  in  cold. 

Nan 
I  could  cry,  I  could.    [She  goes  slowly  out.] 

Jenny 

[At  the  other  door.]    Mother.     [A  pause.]  [Softly.]    Mother. 


Mrs.  P 

[Off.]    Yes! 

Jenny 

Come  'ere  a  moment. 

THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
[Wiping  her  hands.]    What  (Tyer  want  now? 

Jenny 
About  Nan. 

Mrs.  P. 
Wot?    Wot  about  'er? 

Jenny 

[Giggling.]    She  be  soft  on  Dick,  Mother.    Her've  a-told  me. 

Mrs.  P. 
Ho! 

Jenny 

[Giggling.]    Us'll  'ave  to  watch  it,  Mother. 

Mrs.  P. 
I'll  watch  it. 

Curtain 


[182] 


ACT  I! 

SCENE:    The  kitchen.     Nan    tidying    up.     She  places   tray, 
glasses  and  bottle  in  inner  room. 

Nan 

[Sings.]  .... 

Blow,  blow,  thou  winds  of  winter  blow, 
And  cover  me  with  sparklen  snow, 
And  tear  the  branches  from  the  tree, 
And  strew  the  dead  leaves  over  me. 

Dick 

[Coming  in.]    Miss  Nan. 

Nan 
Why,  Mr.  Gurvil!    What  a  start  you  give  me.    You  be  early. 

Dick 
Ah?    When'll  the  others  be  'ere? 

Nan 
Not  yet.    It's  not  half  past  yet. 

Dick 
When'll  the  others — Mrs.  Pargetter — be  down? 

Nan 
They  won't  be  down  this  ten  minutes.     They  be  dressing. 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dick 
And  'aven't  the  fiddler  come? 

Nan 
No. 

Dick 

Per'aps  I'd  a  better  go  out  again. 

Nan 

No.  Come  in  and  sit  down,  Mr.  Dick.  They'll  be  'ere  di- 
reckly.  I'll  be  done.  Tell  me  the  news  in  the  great  world. 
What  be  'appening? 

Dick 

They  do  say  there  be  a  criminal  a-broak  loose.  Out  of  Glor- 
ster  jail. 

Nan 
Indeed! 

Dick 

And  come  'idin'  'ere  somewhere,  they  think. 

Nan 
What  makes  them  think  that? 

Dick 

I  dunno.  But  there  be  a  Bow  Street  Runner.  And  there  be 
a  gentleman  come.  They  were  askin'  where  Parson  live.  They 
must  be  'avin'  a  hue  and  cry.  Hope  they'll  catch  'im  and  'ang 
'im.    I'd  like  to  sick  the  dogs  at  'em. 

[184] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
They  be  'uman  beings,  like  us  be,  Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 

[Undoing  his  neck-cloth.]  No,  they  ben't  like  us.  That  be 
where  you  women  go  wrong.  Along  of  your  'earts,  that  is.  I'd 
like  to  see  all  criminals  'anged.  Then  us  honest  ones  might  fare 
to  prosper.    [He  takes  off  neck-cloth.] 

Nan 
What'll  you  take,  Mr.  Dick,  after  your  walk? 

Dick 
What  be  going? 

Nan 

'Ave  some  zider  and  a  cake.    They  be  in  the  next  room,  ready. 

Dick 
If  it  ben't  troubling  you,  I  ull. 

[Nan  fetches  mug  and  plate] 

Dick 

[Taking  a  cake.]  I'd  ought  to  be  a-waiting  on  you,  not  you 
a-waiting  on  me.  Only  I  'avent  any  angel-cakes  'ere.  None 
but  angel-cakes  'd  be  fit  eating  for  you,  Miss  Nan. 

Nan 

Oh,  now,  I  wonder  how  many  girls  you've  made  that  speech 
to. 

Dick 
None,  I  never. 

[i8S] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Nan 
Well,  I  hope  you  like  your  cake? 

Dick 


It  be  beautiful.  A  spice-cake,  when  it  be  split  and  buttered, 
and  just  set  to  the  fire,  so  as  the  butter  runs.  I  don't  mean  to 
toast  it;  but  just  set  to  the  fire,  and  then  just  a  sprinkle  of  sugar 
to  give  it  a  taste.  No  so  as  to  make  it  sweet,  you  know.  It  go 
down  like  roses.  Like  kissing  a  zweet  'eart  at  'arvest  time. 
When  the  girt  moon  be  zhining. 

Nan 

If  they  be  all  that  to  you,  Mr.  Dick,  you  must  'ave  another. 
Try  and  think  the  clock  be  the  moon  a-zhining. 

[She  gets  more  cakes] 

Dick 

It  be  lovely  'aving  cakes  and  you  bringing  them  to  me.  [Bites]. 
But  there  ben't  no  sugar,  not  on  this  one.  Miss  Nan,  will  'ee  jest 
put  thy  pretty  'and  on  this  cake,  and  then  it'll  be  sugared  lovely. 

Nan 

I'm  not  going  to  do  anything  so  silly.  'Ere.  Take  this  one. 
This  one  be  sugared. 

Dick 

[Eating.]  It  'ud  be  just  'eaven  if  you'd  'ave  'alf  of  it.  So's 
I  might  feel — some'ow — as 

Nan 

No.    I  won't  'ave  any.    'Ave  another  drop  of  zider. 

[186] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dick 

[Tasting.]  Your  zider  be  too  peert,  Miss  Nan.  I  like  zider 
to  be  peert,  like  I  likes  my  black  puddens  done,  up  to  a  point. 
But  zider' s  peert's  this — I  tell  you  what  it  want.  It  want  to  'ave 
a  apple  roast  therein,  and  a  sod  toast  therein,  and  then  it  want 
to  'ave  a  nutmeg  grated  ever  so  light,  not  rough,  yer  know.  And 
then  it  be  made  mellow,  like,  like  tart  of  a  Sunday. 

Nan 
Why,  Mr.  Dick,  you'd  ought  to  have  been  a  cook,  I  think. 

Dick 

My  father  say  to  me — "Mind  thy  innards,"  he  say.  I  'ad 
to  do  for  my  father,  arter  mother  died.  Very  pertiklar  about 
his  innards  dad  were.    I  learned  about  innards  from  'im. 

Nan 

It  be  wonderful  to  'ave  a  father  to  do  for.  To  think  as  he 
knowed  'ee  when  you  were  a  little  un.  To  think  as  perhaps  'e 
give  up  lots  o'  things,  so's  you  might  fare  to  be  great  in  the 
world. 

Dick 

My  dad  never  give  up.  'E  said  'e  try  it  once,  just  to  try  like. 
It  never' d  'ave  suit  my  dad. 

Nan 

It  be  always  'ard  for  a  man  to  give  up,  even  for  a  child,  they 
say.  But  a  woman  'as  to  give  up.  You  don't  know.  You 
never  think  per'aps  what  a  woman  gives  up.  She  gives  up  'er 
beauty  and  'er  peace.    She  gives  up  'er  share  of  joy  in  the  world. 

[187] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

All  to  bear  a  little  one;  as  per'aps'll  not  give  'er  bread  when 
'er  be  wold. 

Dick 

I  wonder  women  ever  want  to  'ave  children.  They  be  so 
beautiful  avore  they  'ave  children.  They  'ave  their  red  cheeks, 
so  soft.  And  sweet  lips  so  red's  red.  And  their  eyes  bright, 
like  stars  a-zhining.  And  oh,  such  white  soft  'ands.  Touch 
one  of  'em,  and  you  'ave  like  shoots  all  down.  Beau-ti-vul. 
Love-lee. 

Nan 

It  be  a  proud  thing  to  'ave  a  beauty  to  raise  love  in  a  man. 

Dick 

And  after.  I  seen  the  same  girls,  with  their  'ands  all  rough 
of  washing-day,  and  their  fingers  all  scarred  of  stitching.  And 
their  cheeks  all  flaggin',  and  sunk.  And  dull  as  toads'  bellies, 
the  colour  of  'em.  And  their  eyes  be  'eavy,  like  a  foundered 
wold  ewe's  when  'er  time  be  on  'er.  And  lips  all  bit.  And  there 
they  do  go  with  the  backache  on  'em.  Pitiful,  I  call  it.  Drag- 
gin'  their  wold  raggy  skirts.  And  the  baby  crying.  And  little 
Dick  with  'is  nose  all  bloody,  fallen  in  the  grate.  And  little 
Sairey  fell  in  the  yard,  and  'ad  'er  'air  mucked.  Ah!  Ugh! 
It  go  to  my  'eart. 

Nan 

Ah,  but  that  ben't  the  all  of  love,  Mr.  Dick.  It  be  'ard  to 
see  beauty  gone,  and  joy  gone,  and  a  light  'eart  broke.  But 
it  be  wonderful  for  to  'ave  little  ones.  To  'ave  brought  life 
into  the  world.  To  'ave  'ad  them  little  live  things  knocking  on 
your  'eart,  all  them  months.  And  then  to  feed  them.  'Elpless 
like  that. 

[188] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Dick 


They  be  pretty,  little  ones  be,  when  they  be  kept  clean  and 
that.  I  likes  'earing  them  sing  'imns.  I  likes  watching  the 
little  boys  zwimming  in  the  river.  They  be  so  white  and  swift, 
washing  themselves.  And  the  splashin'  do  shine  zo.  Diamonds. 
'Oo  be  coming  'ere  to-night — 'sides  us? 

Nan 
Old  Gaffer  Pearce  be  a-comin'  to  fiddle. 

Dick 

He'd  ought  to  be  in  mad'ouse,  Gaffer  did.  Dotty  owd 
gape.  He  ben't  wholly  stalwart  in  uns  brains,  folk  do  observe. 
But 

Nan 

He  been  a  beautiful  fiddler. 

Dick 
He  been  a  wonder,  that  old  man  'ave. 

Nan 

'E  play  wonderful  still,  when  'e  gets  thinking  of  old  times, 
and  of  'is  girl  as  'e  calls  'er.  Why,  she've  been  dead  fifty  years 
and  more. 

Dick 

She  was  beautiful.  They  call  'er  the  Star  of  the  West.  My 
dad  'ave  tell  of  'er.    She  'ad  a  face  like  cream. 

Nan 

He  made  beautiful  poems  to  'er;  and  music,  'e  did.    I  'eard 

[189] 


THE    TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

'im  sing  'is  poems  once.  He  was  fiddlin'  quiet-like,  all  the  time 
'e  were  a-singing;  and  the  tears  standing  in  'is  eyes.  'E's  never 
been  quite  right  since  the  Lord  'ad  mercy  on  'er. 

Dick 
'Oo  else's  comin'  'sides  Gaffer? 

Nan 
Tommy  and  Artie.    What  a  'andsome  boy  Artie  be  grown. 

Dick 
Ah  ?    I  'ear  'em  say  that.    I  couldn't  ever  see  it. 

Nan 
He  be  just  like  his  mother.    Black  and  comely. 

Dick 

I  likes  a  good  black.  I  likes  a  good  brown,  a  good  bay  brown. 
I  likes  a  good  black  too.  There  be  bright  blacks  and  there  be 
dull  blacks.  Now  what  be  the  black  as  I  likes?  You  'air  is 
jest  the  very  colour.     Beautiful  I  call  it. 

Nan 

[Getting  up.]  If  you  ben't  going  to  'ave  more  zider  I'll  take 
your  mug,  Mr.  Dick.    Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 
Yes. 

Nan 

We've  'ad  a  sheep  die  on  us  last  week.  Don't  you  'ave  none 
of  our  'ot  mutton  pies  to-night. 

[190] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Dick 


Ah?  I  'ope  you'll  give  me  twice  of  trotters,  instead  like,  I 
can  do  with  a  trotter,  I  can.  I  s'pose  us  be  going  to  'ave  great 
times  'ere  to-night,  Miss  Nan. 

Nan 
Yes,  indeed.    Us'll  dance  the  moon  down  to-night. 

Dick 
I  s'pose  you  be  a  girt  lady  to  dance? 

Nan 
I've  not  dance  now,  for  more'n  a  year,  Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 
I  s'pose  you  'ad  dancings  when  you  were  to  'ome. 

Nan 

Us  used  to  dance  on  our  doorsteps  at  'ome.  There  was  an 
old  man  used  to  fiddle  to  us.  Every  night  there  was  a  moon, 
we  danced.  The  girls  would  dance  in  their  pattens.  They 
used  to  go  clack,  clack,  their  feet  did.  You'd  a  thought  it  was 
drums,  Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 

I  wish  I'd  bin  there  to  'ave  dance  with  you. 

Nan 

And  then  we  used  to  sing  "Joan  to  the  Maypole"  and  "Ran- 
dal" and  all  the  old  songs.  And  there'd  be  beetles  a  buzzin'. 
And  sometimes  one  of  the  shepherds  come  with  'is  flute.  It 
was  nice  at  'ome,  then. 

[  191  ] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Dick 


What  times  us  be  'avin*  since  you  come  'ere.  It  be  always 
sad  to  leave  'ome.  But  I  s'pose  you'll  be  going  back  afore  long. 
Your  dad  and  your  mother'll  be  a-wanting  you.    Sure  to  be. 

Nan 
They  be  dead,  Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 

Now,  be  they  indeed!  Mrs.  Pargetter  do  talk's  though  you 
'ad  both  your  folk. 

Nan 

Mrs.  Pargetter!  She  has  'er  reasons,  Mr.  Dick,  for  letting 
folk  think  that. 

Dick 

What  reasons  can  'er  'ave  for  that,  Miss  Nan? 

Nan 

Some  day,  per'aps  I'll  tell  you  'er  reasons.  Now  let  I  take 
your  coat  and  hat. 

[She  takes  coat,  hat,  etc.,  and  puts  them  in  inner  room.     Then  Re- 
enters.} 

Dick 

'Ow  brave  you  be  a-looking,  Miss  Nan. 

Nan 
Soap  and  water  tells,  they  do  say. 

Dick 

You  be  all  roses,  Miss  Nan.    And  you  be  all  lilies. 

[192] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
Why,  Mr.  Dick!    You  be  quite  the  courtier. 

Dick 

Ah!    [Producing  a  rose.}    Miss  Nan? 

Nan 
Yes? 

Dick 
I  brought  a  rose 

Nan 
For  Jenny,  Mr.  Dick? 

Dick 
No,  for  'ee.    Will  'ee  wear  it,  Miss  Nan? 

Nan 
Yes,  if  you'll  give  it  to  me. 

Dick 
'Ere  it  be.    Will  'ee  say  thank  you  for  it? 

Nan 
Thank  you,  Mr.  Dick.    What  a  beautiful  rose! 

Dick 

'Er  be  a  Campden  Wonder.    'Er  be  red.    Like  love.    Love  be 
red.    Like  roses. 

Nan 
Oh! 

[193] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Dick 


I  see  that  rose  growing,  Miss  Nan — an*  I — I  thought  'er'd 
look  beautiful  if — if — if  you  were  wearing  of  'er,  like. 

Nan 
Well,  I  hope  it  does. 

Dick 

You  put  'er  to  the  blush,  Miss  Nan — Miss  Nan 

Nan 
Yes? 

Dick 
Will  you  do  I  a  favor? 

Nan 
What  is  it? 

Dick 

Will  'ee  wear  that  rose  in  your  hair? 

Nan 
In  my  hair,  Mr.  Dick!    Why? 

Dick 
I  'ad  a  dream  once  of  you  with  roses  in  your  hair. 

Nan 

[Putting  rose  in  her  hair.]  In  the  old  times  women  always 
put  roses  in  their  hair.  When  they  danced,  they  wore  roses  in 
their  hair.  The  rose-leaves  fell  all  about  'en,  my  mother  told 
me. 

Dick 

It  looks  like  it  were  growing  out  of  your  'ed. 

[194] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
I  must  light  the  lamp. 

Dick 
No,  don't  'ee.    Don't  'ee. 

Nan 

[Striking  a  match.]  They  must  have  looked  beautiful,  those 
women  must,  in  the  old  time.  There  was  songs  made  of  them. 
Beauty  be  a  girt  gift,  Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 
It  be  wonderful  in  a  woman. 

Nan 
It  makes  a  woman  like  God,  Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 
You  be  beautiful,  Nan;  you  be  beautiful. 

Nan 
Ah,  Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 

You  be  beautiful.  You  be  like  a  fairy.  The  rose.  You  be 
beautiful  like  in  my  dream. 

Nan 

Ah!  Let  go  my  hands.  Let  go  my  hands. 

Dick 

You  be  beautiful.  Your  eyes.  And  your  face  so  pale.  And 
your  hair  with  the  rose.    O  Nan,  you  be  lovely.    You  be  lovely! 

[195] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 

0  don't!    Don't! 

Dick 
My  love,  my  beloved. 

Nan 
Ah! 

Dick 

1  love  you,  O  Nan,  I  love  you. 

Nan 
Let  me  go;  let  me  go,  please. 

Dick 
Do  'ee  care  for  me  ?    Do  'ee  love  me,  Nan  ? 

Nan 

You  don't  know!    You  don't  know!    You  don't  know  about 
me. 

Dick 
I  love  you. 

Nan 

Ah!    You  mustn't.    You  mustn't  love  me. 

Dick 
There  be  no  high  queen  'as  a  beauty  like  yours,  Nan. 

Nan 
0!    let  me  go. 

Dick 
My  love!    My  'andsome! 

[196] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
O!    Dick. 

Dick 

Nan,  O  Nan,  do  'ee  love  me  ? 

Nan 
Ah! 

Dick 

Dear  sweet.    Will  'ee  marry  me?    Do  'ee  love  me? 

Nan 
I  love  you,  Dick. 

Dick 
My  love!    My  pretty! 

Nan 
My  dear  love. 

Dick 

My  beautiful.    I'll  make  a  song  for  you,  my  beautiful. 

Nan 
Your  loving  me,  that's  song  enough. 

Dick 

Nan,  dear,  let  I  take  the  pins  out  of  your  hair.  Let  me  'ave 
your  'air  all  loose.  Your  lovely  hair.  O  Nan,  you  be  a  beautiful 
woman. 

Nan 

Ah,  God !    I  wish  I  were  beautiful. 

Dick 
Dear  love,  you  be. 

[197  3 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
More  beautiful.    Then  I'd  'ave  more  to  give  you. 

Dick 
Kiss  me.    Kiss  me! 

Nan 
There  be  my  'air,  Dick.    It  ben't  much,  after  all. 

Dick 

[Kissing  the  hair.}   Oh,  beautiful.    Beau-ti-vul.    My  own  Nan. 

Nan 
I  am  yours,  my  beloved. 

Dick 
When  shall  us  be  married?    When  shall  us  come  together? 

Nan 
Ah,  my  love !    Now  is  enough.    Now  is  enough. 

Dick 
When  shall  us  marry? 

Nan 
Kiss  me. 

Dick 
Shall  it  be  Michaelmas? 

Nan 
Kiss  me.     Kiss  me. 

Dick 

My  winsome.    My  beauty. 

[198] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Nan 


Now  loose  me,  darling.  [They  break.]  I  have  had  my  mo- 
ment.   I  have  been  happy. 

Dick 
Nan!    Nan! 

Nan 

I  cannot  marry  you.  O  Dick,  'ee  must  go  away.  Go  away. 
[He  goes  toward  her.]  Don't  'ee.  Us  can  never  marry.  You'd 
'ate  me  if  you  knew.  I  can't  tell  you.  Not  to-night,  dear. 
They'll  be  coming  down  directly.  If  I  married  you,  Dick?  Oh, 
I  can't.  I  can't — if  I  married  you — if  we  lived  'ere — I  might 
bring  shame  upon  you.  They'd  call  names  after  me.  They'd 
know.    They'd  know. 

Dick 

My  pretty!    My  Nan.    Tell  thy  Dick. 

Nan 

Ah,  no,  no.  Don't  touch  me.  You  don't  know  yet.  I'm — 
not  a  fit — I'm  not  a  fit  woman  for  you  to  marry,  Dick.  My 
father.  My  poor  dad — [she  breaks  down]  O  Dick!  O  Dick! 
You  don't  know  what  sorrows  I  gone  through.  I  think  my 
'eart'll  break. 

Dick 

There,  there,  Nan.  Tell  thy  Dick.  My  poor  dearie.  You 
be  my  dear  love  now,  Nan. 

Nan 

If  you  love  me,  Dick — O,  my  love!  Us  together!  Us  needn't 
fear  what  they  say.  Us  could  go  away,  Dick.  To  America. 
Us'd  be  'appy  there.    O  Dick,  take  me  out  of  this.    All  we  'ave 

[199] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

is  our  lives,  Dick.    With  love,  us'd  never  want.    Us'd  'ave  that, 
my  love.    Take  me,  Dick. 

Dick 
I'll  take  you,  darling.     To-night.     To-night  I'll  tell  them. 

Nan 
In  spite  of — even  if — what  I  'ave  to  say? 

Dick 

No  matter  what  it  is,  dear.    To-night,  now.    To-night.    When 
the  fiddler  comes. 

Nan 
Ah!  my  beloved! 

Dick 

I'll  claim  you.    Before  them  all,  I'll  claim  you. 

Nan 
Your  wife,  my  blessed. 

Dick 
Kiss  me,  once  more,  dear. 

Nan 
Before  they  come. 

[Outside  the  door  there  is  a  shuffling  and  giggling 

A  Voice 
They  be  in.    I  hear  'em. 

A  Voice 
They  ben't. 

A  Voice 

Don't,  Artie.    [Together,  rapidly.] 

[200] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Sh! 

A  Voice 

All  together. 

One  after  the  other. 

A  Voice 
A  Voice 

Here  they  are. 

My  beloved !    My  own. 

Dick 

Nan 

Voices 

"Joan,  to  the  maypole  away  let  us  on 
The  time  is  short  and  will  be  gone — " 

[They  stop  and  giggle] 

Another 
They  ben't. 

[One  hums  the  tune] 

Dick 

To-night.  Before  them  all.  When  the  fiddle  begins.  My 
wife. 

Nan 
My  husband. 

Voices 

"Where  your  beauties  may  be  seen."  Bang!  Bang!  Bang! 
[They  knock  the  door.  The  Lovers  break.  Mrs.  Pargetter 
and  Jenny  run  downstairs  as  Nan  flings  the  door  open.  Enter 
old  Gaffer  Pearce,  Artie  of  that  ilk,  Tommy  Arker,  and 
Two  Girls.] 

[201] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
'Ere  you  be.    'Ow  nice  it  is  to  see  you. 

[She  kisses  the  girls  and  looks  hard  at  Nan] 

Jenny 

[To  Dick.]  Ah,  Mr.  Gurvil.  'Ave  you  brought  I  the  rose  as 
you  promised? 

Dick 
You  don't  want  no  roses. 

Jenny 
You  ain't  very  polite,  Mr.  Dick. 

Dick 
You  got  roses  in  your  cheeks,  you  'ave. 

Mrs.  P. 
'Ow  be  you,  gaffer? 

[General  salutation] 

Artie 

Granfer  doan't  'ear  you,  unless  you  'it  'im.  [Shouts  in  his 
ear.]    'Ow  be  you,  granfer? 

Gaffer. 

[Looking  at  Nan.]  Twice  I  seen  her,  twice.  Her've  gone  by 
on  the  road.  With  a  rose  in  'er  'air.  And  'er  eyes  shone.  Twice. 
In  April. 

Artie 

'Ere,  gaffer!  Sit  down  'ere.  'E  can  fiddle  still,  th'owd  granfer 
do;  but  'e  doan't  talk,  not  to  strangers. 

[202] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

A  Girl 
Us  seed  some  strangers  in  the  village,  Mrs.  Pargetter. 

Mrs.  P. 
Ah? 

Tom 

They  were  askin'  where  your  'ouse  was.    Them  and  parson. 

Artie 
'Ave  you  been  a-robbin',  Mrs.  Pargetter? 

Mrs.  P. 

A-robbin' !    No.    I  'ave  enough  of  thieves  without  me  going 
stealing  I  'ope. 

Artie 

Well.    One  of  'em  be  a  runner,  'e  be. 

Dick 
Yes,  for  I  seed  'en  too. 

Mrs.  P. 

0!    So  you  didn't  come  with  th'  others,  then,  Dick? 

Dick 
Noa.    But  I  seen  'en. 

All 

I  wonder  whatever  they  do  want! 

Mrs.  P. 

Well.     If  they're  coming  'ere,  us  shall  soon  know.     I  should 
a-thought  the  pleece  could  a-caught  their  own  thieves. 

[Old  Pargetter  comes  downstairs,  buttoning  his  waistcoat] 

[203] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mr.  P. 
Aha!    Aha! 

All 

'Ow  be  you,  Mr.  Pargetter  ? 

Mr.  P. 

[Saluting.]  Why,  'ow  beautiful  all  you  girls  be  looking! 
'Ullo,  Dick!  You  be  quite  the  bridegroom.  Why,  gaffer,  what 
a  old  Pocahontas  you  be,  to  be  sure!  'Ave  you  brought  your 
fiddle? 

Gaffer 

[Still  staring  at  Nan.]  'Oo  be  her  ?  On  the  roads,  shining,  I've 
seen  'er.    Scattering  blossoms,  blossoms. 

Jenny 

[After  glancing  at  Gaffer.]  So  you  come  'ere  early,  Dick. 
Why  Nan,  do  look.  You  'aven't  a-done  your  'air.  Look, 
mother,  at  Nan's  'air! 

Mrs.  P. 

What  in  the  name  of  Fate  d'you  'ave  that  rose  in  your  'air 
for?    And  why  d'yer  come  down  with  your  'air  like  that? 

Nan 
I  had  to  open  the  door.    I  had  to  light  the  candle. 

Gaffer 

Give  I  a  cup  of  red  wine  and  a  cup  of  white  wine,  and  honey 
[coming  towards  her]  and  a  apple  and  a — I  be  goin'  to  fiddle  joy 
to  the  feet  of  the  bride. 

[204] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Artie 

You  be  going  to  do  wonders,  you  be.  Sit  down,  you  old 
stupe.    Ain't  no  bride  'ere. 

Mr.  P. 

[To  the  Girls.]  There  be  brides  for  us  all.  With  all  you 
lovely  young  things.  Nothing  like  'aving  a  sweet'eart.  Now! 
You  ladies,  you'll  want  to  take  off  your  things. 

Artie 
'Ow  about  us? 

Mr.  P. 

One  sect  at  a  time.  Like  the  sheep  goin'  through  a  'edge. 
Per'aps  you  ladies'll  go  up-stairs  with  Nan  and  Jenny  'ere. 

Nan 
Come,  Ellen. 

Jenny 
'Ere!    Give  I  your  brolly. 

[The  Girls  go  upstairs] 

Mr.  P. 

Now,  you  gentlemen.     Come  on  in  'ere  with  me.    [He  leads 

them  to  the  inner  room.] 

Mrs.  P. 
[As  Dick  follows.]    Oh,  Dick. 

Dick 
Ess,  Mrs.  Pargetter. 

UosJ 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 

I  see  you  'ave  your  things  off.  Just  'elp  me  a  moment,  there's 
a  good  lad. 

Dick 

Ess,  Mrs.  Pargetter.    What  do  'e  want  done? 

Mrs.  P. 

Us  must  'ave  all  clear  for  dancing.  I'll  nip  them  candles 
over  'ere  to  the  dresser.  There.  Now  'elp  me  lift  the  table 
over.    There!    You  was  'ere  early,  wasn't  yer,  Dick? 

Dick 
Nothin'  to  speak  of.    'Ow  about  them  chairs? 

Mrs.  P. 
They'll  do  nicely.    I  suppose  Nan  let  you  in  ? 

Dick 
Ess.    Miss  Nan  done. 

Mrs.  P. 

You  two  been  'aving  a  fine  game,  I  know. 

Dick 
Ah? 

Mrs.  P. 

Don't  tell  me  you  'aven't.    Did  she  kiss  yer? 

Dick 

[Sullenly.]    Never  you  mind. 

[206] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
Oh,  I  don't  mind.    But  I  got  eyes,  I  'ave. 

Dick 
Oh!    What  good  'ave  they  done  yer? 

Mrs.  P. 

0,  when  I  see  a  girl  with  'er  face  all  flushed,  and  'er  'air  all 
'anging  down,  and  a  rose  stuck  over  'er  ear,  and  a  young  man 
by  'er  as  flustered  as  what  you  are — Well — I  can 

Dick 
What  can  you? 

Mrs.  P. 

Well,  I  know  they  don't  come  like  that  of  their  own. 

Dick 

[Sullenly.]     Do  you? 

Mrs.  P. 

I  ain't  blaming  yer,  mind. 

Dick 

Aren't  yer? 

Mrs.  P. 


I  know  what  it  is  to  be  young,  myself.    But  all  the  same- 

Dick 
What? 

Mrs.  P. 
Oh,  nothing. 

[207I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dick 
What  were  you  going  to  say? 

Mrs.  P. 
Nothing. 

Dick 
You  were  going  to  say  something. 

Mrs.  P. 

No,  I  weren't.     Only  it  mid  seem  strange.     You  see,  your 
dad's  so  partikler. 

Dick 
Oh!    'im. 

Mrs.  P. 
'As  'e  took  you  in  'is  partner  yet?    Your  dad? 

Dick 

No. 

Mrs.  P. 

No,  I  know  'e  'aven't.    I  could  tell  yer  something.    A  little 
surprise — about  your  dad. 

Dick 
What's  that? 

Mrs.  P. 

Somethin'  'e  said  to  me.    I  don't  know  as  I've  a  right  to  tell 
yer. 

Dick 

About  my  being  took  in  as  partner  to  'im? 

[208] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 

It  was  meant  as  a  secret.  But  there — since — us  can  'ave  no 
secrets,  can  us? 

Dick 

Why,  no — I'm 

Mrs.  P. 

Well — your  dad  says  to  me,  "Mrs.  Pargetter"  'e  says,  "I'm 
gettin'  to  be  a  old  man,  I  want  to  see  my  boy  settled.  Now 
then,"  'e  says.  "The  day  my  boy  marries  I  'ave  'im  bound 
my  partner.    And  £20  to  'elp  'im  furnish." 

Dick 

Good  iron!  A  old  chanti-cleer.  Balm  in  Gilead,  as  the  say- 
ing is. 

Mrs.  P. 

"Yes,"  I  says,  "And  more  no  mother  could  ask."  [Change  of 
voice.]  That  girl'd  forsake  'er  'eavenly  crown  for  you,  Dick. 
She's  drooped  like  a  lily  of  the  vale  since  she's  been  away.  If 
you'd  seen  that  girl  as  I  seen  'er,  you'd  'ave  yourself  arst  this 
Sunday.  Or  you'll  'ave  'er  goin'  into  a  decline.  'Ave  you 
arst  'er  yet  ? 

Dick 

Yes.    I  arst  'er  just  now.    Just  this  minute  ago. 

Mrs.  P. 
When  she  was  at  the  door  'ere  ? 

Dick 

When  I  come  in. 

[209] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
Wot  did  she  say,  I  wonder?    No  tellin,,  I  suppose? 

Dick 
I  thought  as  you'd  seen.    I  mean,  from  what  you  said. 

Mrs.  P. 
No.    I  never  seed. 

Dick 

From  'er  'avin'  'er  'air  down.    The  rose  and  that. 

Mrs.  P. 
'Air  down?    She  'adn't  'er  'air  down.    I  done  it  myself. 

Dick 
Yes,  she  'ad  'er  'air  down.    You  said — just  now 

Mrs.  P. 
Jenny  'ad? 

Dick 
No,  Nan. 

Mrs.  P. 
Nan:  wot's  she  got  to  do  with  it? 

Dick 

I've  just  arst  'er  to  marry  me,  Mrs.  Pargetter.  And  her  'ave 
said  yes.  [A  pause.}  It'll  be  nice  bein'  a  partner  and  that,  won't 
it.    I'll  be  able  to  'ave  the  trap  of  a  evenin'.    And  I'll  'ave  money 

for 

[210] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 

[Grimly.]  You  be  'is  partner!  You'll  be  your  dad's  partner 
if  you  marry  Jenny — that's  your  dad's  arrangement.  That's 
wot  'e's  planned. 

Dick 

My  dad  'ave  planned 

Mrs.  P. 

"'E  shall  marry  as  I  choose,"  'e  says,  "my  son  shall.  If  'e 
don't  know  which  side  'is  bread  is  buttered,  there's  the  door. 
'E  can  beg." 

Dick 
'E  can  beg! 

Mrs.  P. 

"Not  a  penny  will  'e  ever  'ave  from  m<?,"  'e  says.     Now. 

Dick 

So! 

[Mrs.  Pargetter  watches  him] 

Mrs.  P. 

D'you  think  we'd  let  you  throw  Jenny  over,  after  getting  'er 
talked  about? 

Dick 

It  be  different  'avin'  a  kiss  or  two  of  a  girl  and  wantin'  to 
marry  'er. 

[Re-enter  Pargetter  slowly,  looking  hard  at  Dick  who  is  very 
white.  He  walks  to  the  dresser,  picks  up  a  corkscrew,  and  walks 
slowly  out,  looking  hard  at  Dick  but  saying  nothing.] 

Mrs.  P. 
Now  then. 

[211] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dick 

[Moistening  his  lips.]     Per'aps  my  father'll  'ear  me  explain. 

Mrs.  P. 
Wot'll  you  tell  'im  ? 

Dick 
Tell  'im  as  Jenny  ain't  no  more  to  me  'n  what  a  pig's  milt  is. 
Tell  'im  as  I  love  Nan.    And  as  I  be  goin'  to  marry  'er. 

Mrs.  P. 
[Slowly  and  grimly.]     You'll  tell  'im  for  instans,  you'll  tell 
your  father,  for  instans,  as  you're  goin'  to  marry  a  girl  whose 
dad  was  'ung  at  Glorster,  like  the  thief  'e  was.    Just  afore  last 
Christmas. 

Dick 
Nan's  dad  wos? 

Mrs.  P. 
[Nods  her  head.]     And  'er  mother  'ad  men  come  to  see  'er. 
[A  pause.]    'Ow'll  yer  tell  that  to  yer  dad  ? 

Dick 
My  Lord  Almighty!    Daughter  of  one  of  them! 

Mrs.  P. 
Two  of  them. 

Dick 

My  'oly  Saviour! 

Mrs.  P. 

Your  'art  out  of  your  bosom  like  a  engine  it  does  go. 

Dick 
I'll  marry  'er  yet  to  spite  yer. 

[212  J 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 

Wot'U  yer  marry  'er  on?  You  ain't  got  a  penny.  She  ain't 
got  a  penny.  [A  pause.]  I  wonder  she  never  told  yer  about  'er 
dad's  being  'ung.  They  'ad  yeomanry  in  front  of  the  gaol. 
Quite  an  affair.    Didn't  she  never  tell  yer  ? 

Dick 

No.    'Er  was  going  to.    My!    Oh  my 

Mrs.  P. 
Per'aps  she  waited  till  she  'ooked  yer.    'Ark  at  'em  in  there! 
[Laughter  inside  and  one  crows  like  a  cock] 
She  is  artful.    I  never  see  a  deeper  girl  than  wot  she  is. 

Dick 
Oh,  'old  yer  tongue,  you  old  devil!    I've  'ad  my  gruel. 

Mrs.  P. 
Come,  come.    Be  a  man. 

Dick 


Mrs.  Pargetter.    I  mean,  I'm — Mrs.  Pargetter- 

Mrs.  P. 
Yes?    Wot? 

Dick 

I  dunno — I  dunno  wot  to  think. 

Mrs.  P. 
Your  dad'll  know  wot  to  think. 

[213] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dick 
I  dunno!    If  I  'ad  I  a  little  of  my  own! 

Mrs.  P. 
Oh,  if  yer  like  to  starve,  starve.    Walk.    Pad  yer  'oof. 

Dick 
Ah!    A  tramper!    My 'eavenly  King! 

Mrs.  P. 

Lots  on  'em  pass  'ere.  Dirt  on  'em.  Feet  comin'  through 
their  boots.  You  see  'em  nick  crusts  out  of  the  gutter.  Berries 
of  a  'edge,  some  on  'em.  Froze  stiff,  some  on  'em,  under  a  rick. 
Lots  on  'em. 

Dick 

Ah !    Don't !    I  can't !    [A  pause.] 

Mrs.  P. 
Well,  Dick?    Wot's  it  to  be?    Is  it  Jenny? 

Dick 

O  damn  it,  yes,  it's  Jenny,  Jenny.  Like  'avin'  a  cold  poultice! 
Very  well,  it's  Jenny  then.    Now  I  'ope  yer  satisfied. 

Mrs.  P. 

[Kissing  him.]  There.  /  knew  yer  wouldn't  act  dishonour- 
able.   I  knowed  you  better. 

[The  door  opens,  the  men  come  in,  singing  and  laughing.  Artie 
Pearce  crows  like  a  cock.  The  Girls  come  down,  hearing  the 
noise.]    Wot  a  time  you  people  'ave  been. 

[214I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mr.  P. 
Wot  'a  you  been  doin'  all  the  time? 

Artie 

[Singing.]-     Making  love  in  the  evenin* 
Making  love  in  the  evenin' 

A  drop  of  zider  sets  one  up  like  [wiping  his  mouth]. 

Mrs.  P. 

[To  Pargetter.]  You'll  'ear  later.  All  in  good  time.  'Ere 
Jenny,  'elp  me  with  these  chairs!  I've  watched  it  all  right. 
Dick  and  you  I  mean.    It's  settled. 

Jenny 

[With  a  chair  \  Give  I  that  one,  Mother.  O  Mother,  wot  fun 
us  shall  'ave. 

Mr.  P. 

Now  us  be  goin'  to  'ave  a  dance. 

A  Girl 
Be  you  a-goin'  to  dance,  Mr.  Pargetter? 

Mr.  P. 
Course  I  be.    Come,  gaffer.    Out  with  that  fiddle  *o  yourn. 

A  Girl 
I  do  love  a  fiddle. 

Jenny 

A  barrel  hargin  be  good,  too. 

[2ISl 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mr.  P. 

Now,  gaffer.  Now,  no  long  faces,  anybody.  Us  be  goin'  to 
'ave  great  times,  ben't  us? 

Nan 

Wait  till  I  set  thy  chair  right,  gaffer. 

Gaffer 
[Querulously.]     On  the  roads,  I  seen  you.     Surely.     And  it 
was  all — all  a-blowing? 

Nan 

Sit  'ere,  now.    And  'ave  this  cushion. 

Artie 
Don't  let  granfer  fall  into  the  fire.    'E  will,  if  you  don't  watch 
it. 

Gaffer 

[Bowing  in  the  old  style.]  Beauty  makes  women  be  proud. 
There  be  few  beauties  'as  the  'umbleness  to  'elp  a  old  man.  Ah, 
there  be  no  pleasure  for  the  old;  but  to  'muse  the  young.  I  be 
a  old  man.    A  old,  old  man! 

Nan 
The  old  be  wise,  gaffer.    The  old  'ave  peace,  after  their  walk- 
ing the  world. 

Mrs.  P. 
Stuff!    [A  giggle.] 

Gaffer 
There  be  no  peace  to  'im  as  sees  you,  goin'  by  in  beauty, 
puttin'  fire  to  'em. 

Girls 

Us  be  waitin*.    Us  be  all  ready! 

[216] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mr.  P. 

Take  your 

Gaffer 

[To  Nan.]  What  tune  will  the  bride  'ave?  A  ring  of  bells 
and  the  maids  flinging  flowers  at  'er.  Like  me  and  my  girl  'ad. 
[Pause.]  I  'ad  a  flower  of  'er  to  go  to  church  with.  [Pause.] 
They  put  my  flower  under  the  mould  after.  [Pause.]  I  'eard 
the  mould  go  knock!  [He  tunes  his  fiddle  as  he  speaks.]  No 
one  remembers  my  white  flower.  [Pause.]  That's  sixty  year 
ago. 

Nan 

You'll  meet  her  again,  gaffer.     Per'aps  she's  by  you  now. 

Gaffer 

[With  a  lifting  voice — half  rising.]     So  you've  a  come,  my 

'andsome 

Mrs.  P. 

'Ere.  [She  taps  Gaffer's  hand.]  Play!  'Ere!  Fiddle.  [To 
Nan.]  Don't  you  see  you're  upsettin'  'im.  Move  away.  One'd 
think  you'd  no  feelings. 

Mr.  P. 
Take  your  partners. 

Mr.  P. 
Now,  'ave  you  all  got  your  partners? 

All. 

No.  Don't  be  so  silly,  Artie.  Now,  do  be  quiet.  'Ow  are 
us  to  dance!    [Etc.,  etc.]    You  come  over  'ere  by  me. 

[Nan  stands  a  little  apart,  looking  at  Dick,  waiting  on  him] 

[217] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Mrs.  P. 


Now,  now,  we're  all  'ere.  'Ush  a  moment.  Afore  we  begin 
there's  a  little  bit  o'  noos  just  'appened,  as  I'd  like  to  say  about. 

Artie 
'Ear!    'Ear! 

Mr.  P. 

[To  ApvTIE.]    You  be  quiet!     [He  grins  at  Artie  approvingly.] 

Mrs.  P. 

As  I'm  sure  '11  come  as  a  great  surprise.  Really,  it  quite 
took  my  breath  away!  It  did,  really.  Now,  I  mustn't  stop  you 
young  people  dancing.  But  I  must  just  tell  you  this  little  bit  of 
noos.    He,  he!    Why 


We  ain't  lookin'. 
Be  quiet,  Artie. 


Artie 
A  Girl 


Mrs.  P. 

Jenny  and  Dick  'ere  'ave  made  a  match  of  it.  I  'ope  the 
present  company'll  wish  the  'appy  couple  joy!  Dick!  Jenny! 
Give  me  your  'ands.  There.  [She  clasps  them.]  I  'ope  you'll 
be  very  'appy  together.  Dick,  [kissing  him]  you're  my  son  now, 
ain't  yer? 

Artie 

Spare  'is  blushes,  Mother. 

All 

Why,  who'd  ever  a-thought  it!  I  do  'ope  you'll  be  'appy. 
'Ow  sudden!    Quite  took  my  breath  away!    Jenny,  come  'ere, 

[218] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

and  let  I  kiss  'ee.     I  s'pose  us  can't  kiss  you,  Mr.  Dick?    No, 
Mr.  Dick'll  be  quite  the  married  man.    'E  looks  it  already. 

Nan 

Dick,  Dick,  oh,  Dick!    What,  oh,  Dick,  you  weren't  playing, 
Dick? 

Dick 

Don't  Dick  me.    Get  out! 

Mrs.  P. 
Wot  are  yer  bothering  Dick  for? 

Nan 
I  thought  Vd  something — something  to  say  to  me. 

Dick 
You  thought  I  was  a  oly  scrawf,  didn't  yer? 

Nan 

I  thought  I  was  a  'appy  woman,  Dick.    [She  looks  at  him  and 
goes  slowly  over  to  a  chair.    As  she  goes.] 

Mr.  P. 

Now,  Nan.    What  are  you  waitin'  for?    Take  your  place  'ere 
and  dance,  now. 

Mrs.  P. 

Per'aps  Nan  is  like  'er  father. 

Jenny 

{Sliding  her  feet  about.}    'Ow's  that,  Mother? 

[219] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
Per'aps  she  can  only  dance  on  air. 

Nan 

[Going  to  her.]  Yes,  yes,  I  am  like  my  father.  You  coward 
to  say  that. 

Mr.  P. 

Wot  are  you  thinking  of,  with  company  present? 

Mrs.  P. 

You  leave  her  to  me.  I'll  deal  with  her.  [To  the  company.] 
She  thought  if  she  'ad  'er  'air  down  an'  'er  neck  un'ooked  as  she 
might  'ave  a  go  in  at  Dick,  'ere. 

Tommy 
'Ope  us  didn't  come  too  soon,  Dick. 

Jenny 
She  believes  in  giving  all  for  love,  Cousin  Nan  do. 

Mrs.  P. 

She'll  give  no  more  in  this  house.  Why,  'er  dad  was  'ung  for 
a  thief  only  last  Christmas. 

Mr.  P. 

Now,  Mother,  that's — No,  she  deserves  it.  She  ain't  been 
straight. 

All 
Ah. 

Nan 

Yes.   I'd  like  you  all  to  know  that.    My  dad  was  'ung  at  Glor- 

[220] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

ster.  I'd  oughtn't  to  a  shook  your  'ands  without  Pd  told  you. 
I  tried  'ard  to  tell  you,  Dick.  Dick.  Dick.  I  give  you  all  I  had. 
You  'ad  me.  Like  I  never  was.  Not  to  any.  O  Dick,  I  'ope 
you'll  be  very,  very  'appy. 

Dick 

'Ere.  Go  and  say  your  piece  to  Gaffer  there.  'E  'asn't  many 
pleasures,  I've  done  with  yer.  'Ere,  Jenny,  you  be  goin'  to  dance 
with  I. 

Jenny 

[Giggling.]    I  think  I  could  'elp,  Dick  Gurvil. 

Dick 
'Elp  me  then.    Come  on. 

Jenny 

Law.  It  make  my  heart  all  of  a  flower.  That's  wot  Cousin 
Nan  says.    I  s'pose  it  must  be  very  clever  if  'er  says  it. 

Nan 
I  wish — I  wish  the  grass  was  over  my  'ed. 

Dick 
'Ere.    Us  wish  to  dance. 

[Nan  goes  aside] 

Gaffer 

A  bride's  tears  be  zoon  a-dried.  But  love  be  a  zweet  vlower. 
A  girt  red  vlower.  Her  do  last  for  ever.  For  ever.  [He  plays 
"Joan  to  the  Maypole."]    Like  me  and  my  girl,  for  ever! 

[They  dance] 

Curtain 

[221] 


ACT  III 

[SCENE:  The  same.    Nan  at  table  at  back.    A  noise  within. 
Gaffer  in  his  chair.] 

Nan 
Life  be  that  bitter.    0  dad,  life  be  that  bitter. 

Gaffer 
You  be  young  to  'ave  life  bitter  on  you. 

Nan 
It  isn't  time  makes  us  old. 

Gaffer 
Some  on  us  is  glad  to  go  away.    Quite  early. 

Nan 
I  wish  I  could  go  away.    I  wish  I  could  go  away. 

Gaffer 
Us'll  all  be  took  away,  afore  long. 

Nan 
I'd  like  to  be  took  away  now. 

Gaffer 

I've  a-wanted  to  be  took  away  ever  since  my  vlower  were 
took.  Many  a  long  year.  And  I  grawed  to  be  a  old,  old  man. 
I  were  out  of  work  sometimes.    And  I  be  old  now.    Very  old. 

[  222  ] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
Per'aps  you'll  join  'er  soon,  gaffer. 

Gaffer 

Noa.  Not  for  a  girt  while.  I  'ave  'er  little  grave.  I  'ave  'er 
little  grave  to  see  to.  With  vlowers  and  that.  If  I  'ad  girt 
bags  of  gold  like  Squire,  I  could  'ave  a  'edstone  put.  I'd  'ave  'er 
little  grave  all  carved.  I'd  'ave  posies  cut.  And  'er  face  down 
on  the  stone.  All  in  white  I'd  'ave  my  vlower  cut.  White  stone. 
There  be  no  kings  'd  'ave  whiter.  But  I  can't  never  avord  a 
'edstone.    So  I  ben't  goin'  to  die.    Noa.    I  ben't  goin  to  die. 

Nan 
When  love  be  dead,  gaffer,  what  be  there  else? 

Gaffer 

There  be  the  grave.  It  be  all  the  poor  'as,  just  the  grave. 
And  I  got  my  vlower's  grave.  Eight  maids  in  white  there  was. 
No  older  than  my  vlower  they  was.  And  there  were  all  white 
vlowers  on  'er.  Eight  maids  in  white,  maidy.  And  the  bell 
tolling.    Oh,  my  white  blossom  to  go  under  the  grass. 

Nan 
She  was  very  young  to  be  took,  Gaffer. 

Gaffer 

They  was  eight  maids  in  white  when  they  carried  'er.  Then 
they  was  women.  Beautiful  they  were.  Then  they  grew  old. 
One  by  one.  And  then  their  'ouses  were  to  let,  with  the  win- 
dows broke.  And  grass  and  grass.  They  be  all  gone.  When 
I  be  gone  there'll  be  none  to  tell  the  beauty  of  my  vlower. 

[223] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

There'll  be  none  as  knows  where  'er  body  lies.  I  'ave  'er  little 
grave  all  done  with  shells.  And  the  vlowers  that  do  come  up, 
they  be  little  words  from  'er.  Little  zhining  words.  Fifty-nine 
year  them  little  words  come. 

Nan 
I  got  a  grave,  too,  gaffer.    And  I  'ave  fifty-nine  years  to  come. 

Gaffer 
My  bright  'ansome.    'Oo  'ave  you  in  yer  grave? 

Nan 

I  'ave  my  'eart  in  the  grave,  gaffer.  But  there'll  be  no  vlowers 
come  up  out  of  'er.  I  shall  be  'ere  fifty-nine  year  per'aps.  Like 
you  been.  Fifty-nine  year.  Twelve  times  fifty-nine  is — and 
four  times  that.  Three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  in  a  year. 
Up,  and  work,  and  lie  down  again.  But  dead,  dead,  dead.  All 
the  time  dead.  No.  No.  Not  that.  Gaffer.  How  did  thy 
vlower  die? 

Gaffer 

There  come  a  gold  rider  in  the  evening,  maidy. 

Nan 
You  was  by  'er,  Gaffer? 

Gaffer 

She  looked  out  of  the  window,  my  white  vlower  done.  She 
said,  "The  tide.  The  tide.  The  tide  coming  up  the  river." 
And  a  horn  blew.  The  gold  rider  blew  a  'orn.  And  she  rose  up, 
my  white  vlower  done.  And  she  burst  out  a-laughing,  a-laugh- 
ing    And  'er  fell  back,  my  white  vlower  done.    Gold  'air  on  the 

[224I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

pillow.    And  blood.    Oh,  blood.    Blood  of  my  girl.     Blood  of 
my  vlower. 

Nan 
In  your  arms,  gaffer? 

Gaffer 

On  my  'eart.  My  white  vlower  lay  on  my  'eart.  The  tide. 
The  tide.    The  tide  coming  up  the  river. 

Nan 

She  was  'appy  to  die  so,  gaffer.  Along  of  'er  true  love.  You 
'ad  the  sweet  of  love  along  of  your  vlower.  But  them  as  'as 
the  sharp  of  love.  Them  as  never  'as  no  sweet.  0  I  wish  the 
tide  was  comin'  up  over  my  'ed,  I  do. 

Gaffer 
It  be  full  moon  to-night,  maidy. 

Nan 
Full  moon.    It  come  up  misty.    And  red. 

Gaffer 
It  was  red  on  the  pillow.    Then. 

Nan 
The  harvest-moon. 

Gaffer 

There'll  be  a  high  tide  to-night. 

Nan 
A  high  tide. 

[225] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Gaffer 
For  some  on  us. 

Nan 

Why  for  some  on  us,  gaffer? 

Gaffer 
The  tide  be  comin'  for  some  on  us. 

Nan 
For  you,  gaffer? 

Gaffer 

Ther've  come  no  message  yet  for  me.  But  the  tide  be  a'comm' 
for  some  on  us.  It  'ave  someone  every  time.  It  'ad  my  vlower 
one  time.  O  it  be  a  gallows  thing,  the  tide.  First  there  be  the 
mud  and  that.  Sand  banks.  Mud  banks.  And  the  'erons  fish- 
ing. Sand  in  the  river,  afore  the  tide  comes.  Mud.  The  cows 
come  out  o'  pasture  to  drink.  They  come  on  the  sand.  Red 
cows.    But  they  be  afraid  of  the  tide. 

Nan 

They  'aven't  no  grief,  the  beasts  asn't.  Cropping  in  the 
meadows  when  the  sun  do  zhine. 

Gaffer 

They  be  afraid  of  the  tide.  For  first  there  come  a-wammerin' 
and  a-wammerin.'  Miles  away  that  wammerin,  be.  In  the 
sea.  The  shipmen  do  cross  theirselves.  And  it  come  up.  It 
come  nearer.  Wammerin,)  WammerinM  TJsh  it  says.  TJsh 
it  says.  'Ush  it  says.  And  there  come  a  girt  wash  of  it  over  the 
rock.  White.  White.  Like  a  bird.  Like  a  swan  a-gettin*  up 
out  of  the  pool. 

[226] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
Bright  it  goes.    High.    High  up.    Flashing. 

Gaffer 

And  it  wammers  and  it  bubbles.  And  then  it  spreads.  It 
goes  out  like  soldiers.  It  go  out  into  a  line.  It  curls.  It  curls. 
It  go  toppling  and  toppling.    And  on  it  come.    And  on  it  come. 

Nan 
Fast.    Fast. 
A  black  line.    And  the  foam  all  creamm'  on  it. 

Gaffer 

It  be  a  snake.  A  snake.  A  girt  water  snake  with  its  'ed  up. 
Swimming.    On  it  come. 

Nan 

A  bright  crown  upon  it.    And  hungry. 

Gaffer 

With  a  rush.  With  a  roar.  And  its  claws  clutchin'  at  you. 
Out  they  go  at  the  sides,  the  claws  do. 

Nan 
The  claws  of  the  tide. 

Gaffer 

Singing.  Singing.  And  the  sea  a-roaring  after.  O,  it  takes 
them.  They  stand  out  in  the  river.  And  it  goes  over  them. 
Over  them.    Over  them.    One  roarin'  rush. 

Nan 

Deep.  Deep.  Water  in  their  eyes.  Over  their  hair.  And 
to-night  it  be  the  harvest  tide. 

[227] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Gaffer 


[As  though  waking  from  a  dream.]  The  salmon-fishers  'II 
lose  their  nets  to-night. 

The  tide'll  sweep  them  away.  0,  I've  known  it.  It  takes 
the  nets  up  miles.  Miles.  They  find  'em  high  up.  Beyond 
Glorster.  Beyond  'Artpury.  Girt  golden  flag-flowers  over  'em. 
And  apple-trees  a-growin'  over  'em.  Apples  of  red  and  apples 
of  gold.  They  fall  into  the  water.  The  water  be  still  there, 
where  the  apples  fall.    The  nets  'ave  apples  in  them. 

Nan 
And  fish,  gaffer? 

Gaffer 

Strange  fish.    Strange  fish  out  of  the  sea. 

Nan 

Yes.  Strange  fish  indeed,  gaffer.  A  strange  fish  in  the  nets 
to-morrow.  A  dumb  thing.  Knocking  agen  the  bridges.  Some- 
thing white.  Something  white  in  the  water.  They'd  pull  me 
out.  Men  would.  They'd  touch  my  body.  [Shuddering.]  I 
couldn't.    I  couldn't. 

[Loud  laughter  from  within,  and  a  clatter  of  knives.  The  door 
opens.  Enter  Jenny  from  inner  room,  carrying  a  dirty  plate, 
with  dirty  knife  and  fork.  As  Jenny  comes  in,  Mrs.  Par- 
getter  is  heard  off.] 

Mrs.  P. 


Is  she  in  there? 

Yes. 

Tell  'er  to  come  in. 


Jenny 
Mrs.  P. 

[228] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 
[To  Nan.]    You're  to  go  in,  mother  says. 

Mr.  P. 

[Heard  of.]  'Ere,  shut  that  door  behind  yer.  It  blows  my 
'ed  off.    [Jenny  turns  and  shuts  the  door.] 

Nan 
What  'ave  you  got  there,  Jenny? 

(Jenny 
[Uneasily.]    You're  to  go  in,  mother  says. 

Nan 

[Rising.]  Never  mind  what  mother  says.  Answer  my  ques- 
tion, my  friend,  my  girt  friend,  my  little  creeping  friend.  What 
'ave  you  got  there? 

Jenny 

[Shrinking.]  A  mutton  parsty  pie  for  gaffer,  as  mother  sent. 
It'll  be  a  little    treat  for  'im. 

Nan 

[Looking.]  Whose  plate  have  you  brought  it  on,  my  little 
friend? 

Jenny 

[Stammering.]    Mother's  plate. 

Nan 

It  is  a  dirty  plate.    And  the  knives  and  forks  are  dirty. 

[229] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 

[Confidently.]  Gaffer  won't  know  any  different.  It's  good 
enough  for  an  old  man  like  'im.  'Ere,  gaffer.  'Ere's  some  supper 
for  yer. 

Nan 

[Going  up  to  her.]  No,  my  friend,  my  girt  friend,  my  little 
Judas  friend,  my  little  pale  snake  friend.  It's  not  good  enough. 
Did  you  'ave  one  of  them  pies? 

Jenny 
[Blustering.]    You  can — I  ain't  goin'  to 

Nan 

Did  you?  The  sheep  died.  The  sheep  died  last  week.  Did 
you  eat  one  of  them  pies  ? 

Jenny 

No,  I  know  what  the  sheep  die  of.  Gaffer  won't  mind.  'Ere, 
gaffer. 

Nan 

[Fiercely.]  Sit  down,  my  little  friend.  Sit  down  and  eat  that 
pie  yourself.  Eat  it.  Eat  it  or  I'll  kill  you.  Eat  it.  You  with 
no  charity  to  old  or  young.  You  shall  eat  the  charity  of  the 
uncharitable.     Eat  it.    You  little  snake.    Eat  it. 

Jenny 
I'll — I'll  send  mother  to  you. 

Nan 

[Preventing  her.]  No.  Oh,  no.  [Forcing  her  into  a  chair.] 
Eat.    Eat.    [Jenny  in  great  terror  begins  to  eat.] 

[230] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 
I  be  goin*  to  be  sick. 

Nan 

Eat.    [Jenny  eats.    Then  shrinks  back.] 

Jenny 

[After  a  mouthful.]     Wot  are  you  lookin'  at  me  for? 

Nan 
I'm  looking  at  my  friend.    My  friend. 

Jenny 
[After  a  mouthful.]    I  can't  eat  with  you  watchin'  me. 

Nan 

Yes,  Jenny.  It  is  your  bride  cake.  Your  bride  cake.  Your 
bride  cake  for  your  marriage,  Jenny. 

Jenny 

[Screaming.]    Don't  look  at  me  like  that. 

Nan 

[Coming  up  to  her  and  glaring  down  into  her  face.]  Yes.  Jenny. 
I  must  look  at  you  like  this.  I  must  look  into  your  soul,  Jenny. 
Into  your  soul.     [Slowly  and  quietly.] 

Jenny 
Ah-h. 

Nan 

You  'ave  pale  eyes,  Jenny.  Pale  eyes.  I  can  look  into  your 
soul.    D'you  know  what  I  see,  Jenny  ?      [A  pause.]    I  see  your 

l23i] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

soul.  It  is  cold,  Jenny.  It's  a  little  mean  cold,  lying  thing. 
You're  a  lucky  one,  Jenny.  You  cannot  love  nor  hate.  A  dog 
loves  more  and  hates  more.  A  worm  do.  D'you  know  what 
comes  to  such  souls,  Jenny? 

Jenny 
[Gasping.]    Mother!    Mother! 

Nan 

I'll  tell  you,  Jenny.  I'll  tell  your  future  to  you.  I  see  your 
life  very  plain  in  your  pale  eyes.  I  see  a  girt  town,  with  lamps. 
And  I  see  you  in  a  public  'ouse,  Jenny,  with  red  on  your  white 
cheeks.  And  your  pale  eyes  are  swollen  with  drink.  And 
you've  a  raggy  skirt.  And  you  cough.  And  you  tremble.  That 
is  the  pay  in  this  world,  Jenny,  for  a  little  cold  mean  lying  thing. 
And  I  see  a  dirty  room  with  a  dirty  bed,  and  you  lying  dead  on 
it.  Your  painted  cheeks  on  the  pillow.  Till  the  town  dead- 
cart  come.  Out  with  you.  Out  with  you.  Out  with  you. 
[Jenny  totters,  gasping,  to  the  door.] 

Jenny 

Ah.  Ah-h!  [She  leans  up  against  the  door,  holding  it  by  the 
latch,  in  terror;  she  is  only  half  conscious.] 

Gaffer 

[Rousing  and  shading  his  eyes  looking  up.]  Be  you  ready  for 
your  journey,  maidy? 

Nan 
My  journey. 

Gaffer 

You  must  eat  and  drink,  my  'andsome.    'E  be  coming. 

[232] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
Who  be  coming  ? 

Gaffer 
The  gold  rider,  maidy.    'E  be  comin'  on  the  road. 

Nan 

The  gold  rider.  We  will  eat  and  drink,  gaffer.  It  be  a  long 
road  to  go.  [She  opens  oven  and  brings  out  the  apple-pasty;  then 
takes  a  carving  knife,  and  plate.  Then  the  brandy  bottle.  She  cuts 
the  pasty  and  gives  food  to  Gaffer.] 

Gaffer 

[Rising  unsteadily  and  holding  up  his  hands.]  Bless  this  food 
to  thy  service.  Bless  the  Giver  of  all  good  things.  Amen. 
[He  eats.] 

Nan 

Amen.  [The  outer  door  is  knocked.  Footsteps  outside.]  Drink, 
gaffer.     [She  gives  him  a  sup  of  brandy.] 

Gaffer 

[Drinking  to  her.]  A  fair  journey.  Vlowers  on  the  road 
afore  you.     O  gold  'oofs.     Gold  'oofs.     Be  swift.     Swift.     [A 

knocking  at  outer  door.] 

A  Voice 
Is  anyone  inside  there?    Open. 

Nan 

Drink,  gaffer.  [Violent  knocking  outside.  The  inner  door 
is  shaken  by  those  within.  Jenny  holds  the  latch  and  keeps  them 
from  entering.] 

L  233  ] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Jenny 

O!  O!  Don't  let  'er  in  on  me.  Don't  let 'er  in  on  me.  [Fall- 
ing against  the  wall.]    Oh,  oh. 

[Enter  the  Pargetters  and  Dick.  The  others  cluster  at  the 
doorway.] 

Dick 

[Seeing  Jenny  and  glad  to  have  Nan  for  once  in  the  wrong. 
Angrily.]    Wot  'ave  you  been  doin'  to  'er?    Eh? 

Mrs.  P. 

[Advancing  on  Nan.]  Why  can't  you  open  the  door?  Stand- 
ing staring  there. 

Mr.  P. 
Wot  'ave  she  done  to  you,  Jenny? 

Mrs.  P. 

[Turning.]  Never  you  'eed  wot  she's  done  to  'er.  You  go 
and  open  the  door.  'Ere,  Jenny.  Go  on  inside.  Go  on  now. 
Before  they  see  yer. 

Dick 

She's — she's — Best  'ave  'er  locked  up,  mother. 

Mrs.  P. 
Open  the  door,  there. 

[Jenny  totters  out] 

Mr.  P. 

Wot's  brought  'er  into  that  state? 

[234  3 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Nan 


She  has  seen  herself,  uncle.  There's  few  can  bear  that  sight. 
A  worm  in  the  dust  fears  it. 

Mrs.  P. 

You  don't  mean  to  say  as  you've  cut  the  parsty. 

Mr.  P. 
'Ush.    They'll  'ear  yer. 

Mrs.  P. 

[In  a  blood-curdling  voice.]  And  look  at  your  uncle's  bottle. 
If  I  don't  give  it  yer  for  this.    [A  knock.] 

A  Voice  Without 
Come  on.    Come  on.    I've  got  no  time  to  waste. 

Mrs.  P. 

[Going  to  the  door  with  her  best  society  smile.]  I  didn't  'ear 
yer  knock.  Wot  with  comp'ny.  I  'ope  I  'aven't  kep  you  waitin', 
I'm  sure.  [Peering  at  visitors.]  Good  evenin',  sir.  Will,  fetch 
chairs  for  the  gentlemen.  Why,  it's  Mr.  Drew.  Come  in,  sir. 
Won't  you  please  ter  come  in,  sir. 

Drew 
Thank  you. 

[Enter  Parson  Drew,  Captain    Dixon  and  a  Constable 

carrying  a  handbag.] 

Mr.  P. 

[Fetching  chairs].    Good  evenin',  sir. 

[235] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Drew 

Good  evenin',  Pargetter. 

Mr.  P. 

[To  Dixon.]    Good  evenin',  sir. 

Dixon 
[Coldly  to  Constable.]    Put  that  bag  on  the  table. 

Drew 

Well,  Dick.  Is  that  you,  Ellen?  You  grow  so  fast.  Nan. 
Yes.     Yes.     Good  evening,  everybody. 

Mr.  P. 

[In  a  stage  whisper  to  Mrs.  Pargetter.]  'Ave  the  table 
cleared. 

Dixon 

[Irritably.]    Never  mind  the  table. 

Mrs.  P. 

You  must  excuse  things  bein'  a  bit  untidy,  sir.  Wot  with 
'avin  company,  we're  all  topsy  turvy,  as  you  mid  say.  [Suavely 
to  Nan.]  Jest  take  that  parsty  off  the  table,  Nan,  there's  a 
good  girl. 

Nan 

I've  done  with  make-believes,  Aunt.  One  makes  believe  too 
long. 

Mrs.  P. 

[To  Drew.]  She  loves  a  bit  of  play-actin',  sir.  She  do  it 
wonderful,    considerin'. 

[236] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dixon 
Oh,  Drew.     Drew.    [Irritably.] 

Mrs.  P. 
She's  been  givin'  us  a  bit  out  of  Shakespeare  as  they  call  it. 

Drew 

Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  Now  hush,  please,  a  moment  everybody. 
[Everybody  is  silent.]  [Raising  a  hand.]  I'm  afraid  we  come  at  a 
very  inconvenient  time.  But — [  Seeing  those  in  the  door.]  Oh, 
just  come  in  there,  will  you?  Yes.  Yes.  It's  a  very  pleasant 
duty.  It's  not  often  that  I  have  such  a  pleasure  as  I  have  to- 
night.   [Taking  chair.]    Yes.    Thank  you.    Sit  down,  Mr.  Dixon. 

Dixon 
[Coldly.]    Captain  Dixon. 

Drew 

Yes,  yes,  to  be  sure.  Captain  Dixon,  to  be  sure.  I  beg  your 
pardon,  Captain  Dixon.  I'm  sure  you'll  all  be  very  glad  when 
you  hear  what  it  is  that  makes  us  interrupt  your  evening's 
pleasure. 

Dixon 

[Tartly.]  Excuse  me.  Mr.  Drew.  But  hadn't  we  better 
come  to  business? 

Drew 
Yes,  yes,  but 


Dixon 
[Mildly.]    I  shall  miss  the  coach  back  to  town. 

[237] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Drew 


0,  no,  no,  no,  no.  O,  no,  no,  no.  Oh,  you've  ten  minutes 
yet.  More.  You've  got  lots  of  time.  You'll  hear  the  horn 
long  before  the  coach  is  due. 

Mrs.  P. 

Yes,  sir.  You'll  'ear  the  horn  a  long  ways  off.  If  it's  the 
coach  you  want. 

Gaffer 

The  horn.  The  horn.  Gold  hoofs  beating  on  the  road.  [He 
advances  to  the  table.]  They  beat  like  the  ticking  of  a  'eart. 
Soon.    Very  soon.    The  golden  trump. 

Mrs.  P. 

[Angrily.]  Could  ever  anything!  [Quietly.]  You  old  stupe. 
Take  'im  out,  Will.  Don't  let  'im  begin  in  'ere.  [To  Dixon.] 
Don't  mind  'im,  sir.     'E's  silly. 

[Gaffer  goes  to  the  door  and  looks  out  into  the  moonlight] 

Gaffer 
[At  the  door.]    Maybe  I'll  meet  'im  on  the  road. 

[He  goes  out] 

Drew 
One  of  our — You  know,  eh.    [Taps  his  forehead.] 

Dixon 

[Sourly.]  I  thought  it  was  another  bit  out  of  Shakespeare 
as  they  call  it. 

[238] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mr.  P. 
Yes,  sir.    'E  talks  very  strange  sometimes. 

Drew 

Yes,  yes,  poor  fellow. 

Dixon 
I  suppose  this  is  the  right  house? 

Drew 
Yes,  of  course.    Yes,  certainly,  certainly. 

Dixon 

[Taking  bag  and  unlocking  it.]  I  thought  it  might  be  the — the 
— Yes.  Ye-es.  Very  well,  then.  [Suddenly.]  Which  of  you  is 
Nan   Hardwick? 

Nan 
I  am  that  one. 

Dixon 
Ye-es.    You.    Very  well  then.    Is  that  correct,  Mr.  Drew? 

Drew 
Certainly.     Certainly. 

Dixon 
Daughter  of  Mary  Hardwick,  and  of— of  Edward  Hardwick 
who  was — eh? 

Nan 
Who  was  hanged  at  Gloucester. 

Dixon 
Of  Swanscombe,  in  the  Hundred  of — Yes.     Very  well  then. 
[Turning  to  others.]     You  certify  that  this  is  that  Nan  Hard- 
wick ? 

[239 1 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

The  Others 
Yes,  sir.    That  be  'er. 

Dixon 
Very  well,  then.    That's  not  the  horn,  Drew? 

Drew 
O,  no,  no. 

Dixon 

[Taking  bag  and  papers  out  of  handbag.]  Have  you  a  pen  and 
ink  in  the  house? 

Mr.  P. 

[Taking  them  from  the  dresser.]    This  is  a  pen  and  ink,  sir. 

Dixon 

Ye-es.  [Writes.]  This  pen's — Drew,  have  you  got  a  pen? 
[To  Mrs.  Par.]  Give  me  a  penwiper.  [He  wipes,  and  then 
mends  pen  with  a  penknife.]  Ye-es.  Ye-es.  [Sharply.]  Nan 
Hardwick,  your  father  was — er — put  to  death  for  stealing  a 
sheep  near  Aston  Magna.  No.  Don't  answer.  That  is  the  fact. 
Ye-es.  Very  well  then.  The  sheep  was  the  property  of  Mr. 
Nicols.  Now  it  has  been  proved  that  your  father,  Edward 
Hardwick,  had  nothing  to  do  with  that  sheep. 

Nan 

And  you  come  here,  do  you,  to  tell  me  that?  You  have  a 
thousand  men  beneath  you,  a  thousand  strong  men  like  the  man 
there.  And  you  have  judges  in  scarlet,  and  lawyers  in  wigs. 
And  a  little  child  out  of  the  road  could  have  told  you  that  my 
dad  was  innocent.  A  little  child  of  the  road.  By  once  looking 
in  his  eyes. 

[240] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Dixon 


I  can't  go  into  all  that.  You  must  keep  to  the  point.  [Drew 
whispers.]    What?    Yes.    Yes.    I  daresay. 

Drew 
[To  Nan.]    Let  Captain  Dixon  finish  what  he's  got  to  say. 

Mrs.  P. 
Where's  yer  manners  gorn?    You  wait  till  afterwards. 

Dixon 

To  continue.  The  sheep  was  stolen  by  Mr.  Nicol's  shepherd, 
who  was  the  chief  witness  against  your  father. 

Nan 
The  sheep  was  stolen  by  Richard  Shapland. 

Dixon 

[Staring  at  her.]    Who  has  since  confessed. 

All 
Ah.    Confessed.    Think  of  that.    There  now. 

Dixon 

A  sad  miscarriage  of  justice.  Very  well  then.  While  we  sup- 
port the  laws,  we  must  be  content  to  suffer  from  their  occasional 
misapplication.     [Glances  at  his  watch.] 

Drew 
Lots  of  time.    Lots  of  time. 

\m\ 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dixon 
Ye-es.     But  in  this  instance,  the  Home  Office  has  decided  to 
offer  you  some  compensation. 

Nan 
Some  blood-money.     Thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

Dixon 
No.     It's  more.      It's  fifty  pounds.     [He  empties  bag.]    Will 
you  count  it  over  please,  before  signing  the  receipt? 

Nan 
No.    No.    The  blood  and  tears  are  sticky  on  it. 

Drew 
She's  upset.     I'll  count  it. 

Mr.  P. 

[Pouring  brandy  for  Nan.]    'Ere,  Nan.    'Ave  just  a  drop. 

[She  refuses] 

Others 
Fifty  pou-und.    Fifty  pou-und.    Did  you  ever. 

Dick 
[Muttering.]    A  'orse  and  trap.    And  furnish  a  'ouse. 

Drew 
Fifty.    Would  you  like  to  count  it  over,  Pargetter? 

Mr.  P. 
No,  thanky,  sir,  I'm  sure. 

[242] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dixon 

[To  Nan.]    Are  you  satisfied?    [Sharply.]    Nan  Hardwick. 

Nan 
What  d'you  want  more? 

Dixon 

Are  you  satisfied  that  the  sum  is  correct? 

Nan 

Oh.  The  money.  You  know  it  is.  Why  go  to  all  this  trouble  ? 
Give  me  your  pen.  There.  There's  my  name  to  your  paper. 
Received.     By  me.     Fifty  pounds  in  gold. 

Dixon 

And  the  date.  Ye-es.  I'll  just  add  the  date.  [To  the  Con- 
stable.] Witness  it,  Horton.  [The  man  signs.  He  looks  at 
his  watch  again.]    I  shall  miss  that  coach. 

Drew 

Won't  you  think  better  of  it,  and  stay  the  night?  Stay, 
man,  stay  and  see  the  tide.    It's  a  wonderful  sight. 

Dixon 

No,  thanks.  No,  thanks.  [He  gathers  up  his  handbag.]  Here 
you  are,  Horton.  [Gives  him  bag.]  I  hope  the  money  may  be  a 
comfort  to  you.     [To  Nan.]     Where  can  I  catch  this  coach? 

Mrs.  P. 

Just  down  the  lane,  sir.  It  is  but  a  step.  Keep  on  right 
down,  sir.     You  can't  miss  it,  sir. 

U43] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mr.  P. 
You'll  'ear  the  'arn  go,  sir. 

Dixon  and  Horton 

Good  night.     [Going.] 

All 

Good  night,  sir.    Good  night,  Officer. 

Dick 
[To  Pargetter.]      Wouldn't  'e  take  a  drop  of  somethin'? 

Mr.  P. 
Noa.    It's  not  for  the  likes  of  us  to  offer. 

Dick 
You  can't  ever  tell. 

Drew 

I'm  sure  that  what  we  have  just  heard  has  given  us  all  a 
great  deal  of  pleasure.  I  won't  dwell  on  the  satisfaction  to 
yourself,  Nan,  for  fear  of  giving  you  pain.  But  I  am  sure  that 
your  good  aunt,  who  has  been  so  kind  to  you 

Mrs.  P. 
No  more  than  my  sacred  dooty,  Mr.  Drew. 

Drew 

[Gallantly.]  I  will  spare  your  blushes,  Mrs.  Pargetter.  And 
all  your  young  friends  who  are  here  to-night.  I'm  sure  that 
they  all  feel  with  me 

[Re-enter  Dixon] 
[244I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dixon 
Excuse  me,  Drew.    Do  show  me  the  way  to  where  the  coach 
passes.    These  beastly  lanes  are 

Drew 
Yes.     Yes.     Certainly.     Certainly.     [To  the  Company.]     I 
must  wish  you  all  good  night.     So  sorry  to  have  interrupted 
your  evening's  amusement. 

Mrs.  P. 

A  pleasure  I'm  sure,  sir. 

Drew 

[To  Nan.]  By  the  way,  Nan.  Perhaps  I  should  say  Miss 
Hardwick,  now  you're  an  heiress.  Mrs.  Drew  would  like  to 
see  you  at  the  Rectory  to-morrow — She  thinks  you  might  like 
to  live  with  us  as  our  housekeeper. 

Dixon 
Come  on.    Come  on. 

Drew 
Coming,  Captain  Dixon.     But  we'll  go  into  that  to-morrow 
Shall  we? 

Nan 
Thank  you,  sir.     I  hope  you'll  thank  Mrs.  Drew,  too,  sir. 
But  I  shall  not  come  to  the  Rectory  to-morrow.    Unless — Unless 
the  fishers  bring  their  take  to  you.     For  you  to  choose  your 
tithe. 

Drew 
[Puzzled.]    Well.    Ah.    Ah  yes.    Well,  think  it  over.     Sleep 
on  it. 

[245] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
I  shall  sleep  soundly  on  it. 

Drew 
Good  night,  everybody.     Now.     Captain  Dixon. 

[Exit] 

[Returning.]    Mrs.  Pargetter! 

Mrs.  P. 

Yes,  sir.    [He  draws  her  aside  and  whispers,  pointing  to  Nan.] 

Drew 
[In  stage  whisper.]    To  bed  at  once. 

[Nan  smiles  bitterly] 

Mrs.  P. 

Yes,  sir.  Pore  thing,  it's  been  too  much  for  'er.  I  don't 
wonder. 

[Exit  Drew] 

Mrs.  P. 

'E's  gone  at  last.  [To  the  others.]  Go  on  in  back  to  supper. 
Us'll  be  with  yer  in  a  minute.  Shut  the  door.  There's  sech  a 
draught. 

[They  go] 

Dick 

I'll  fetch  in  Miss  Nan  a  bit  of  supper. 

[246] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
It's  a  pity  you  don't  'eed  the  mote  in  yer  own  eye  without 
'eedin'  the  camel  in  yer  neighbour's.    Go  in  and  see  to  Jenny. 

Mr.  P. 
Well,  Nan,  it  be  a  long  lane  as  'as  no  turning,  as  they  say.  I 
knew  thy  pore  dad  when  us  was  boys.  When  us  goe'd  a  nest- 
ing after  ardiestraws.  Dear,  dear.  'E  won  the  prize  for  kiddy 
potatoes,  and  for  kiddy  beans.  I  be  glad,  that  I  be,  to  'ear — 
wot  we've  'eard  to-night. 

Nan 
So  you  are  glad,  are  you?    Glad. 

Mrs.  P. 
If  you  'adn't  a  black  'eart,  you'd  be  glad  yourself,  I  should 
a-thought.    Some  people  a-got  no  feelin's. 

Mr.  P. 

Fifty  pound  be  a  lot  of  money,  too. 

Nan 
The  worth  of  a  man's  life  'ad  need  to  be  a  lot  of  money. 

Mr.  P. 
There's  two  things  you  could  do  with  all  that  money.    You 
could  put  er  into  the  Bank  and  that.     Or  you  could — I'd  be 
very  glad  to  borrow  it  of  you,  to  'elp  me  on  the  farm.    And  pay 
you  the  interest,  like. 

Nan 
And  if  I'd  refuse.    What  then? 

I H7] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Mrs.  P. 
Refuse?    Refuse?    I  don't  doubt  you  give  yerself  airs.    It's 
wot  we'd  expect  of  yer 

Mr.  P. 

[Interrupting.]    I'm  only  asking. — To  keep  it  in  the  family. 

Mrs.  P. 
[To  Par.]    Asking?    Givin'     in  to  'er  wills  and  'er  won'ts. 
Wot's  asking  got  to  do  with  it  ?    'Ere.    You're  under  age.    We're 
yer  guardians.     We  11  take  care  of  that  money  for  yer. 

Nan 
Yes.    You'll  want  some  money,  for  Jenny's  portion. 

Mr.  P. 

[Controlling  his  temper.]    I  'aven't  said  nothink  yet 

Mrs.  P. 
No.    You  'aven't  got  the  sperrit  of  a  'og  with  the  twitters. 

Mr.  P. 

[Angrily.]    I  don't  want  none  of  yer  jaw. 

Mrs.  P. 
Don't  you  nag  at  me,  for  I  won't  'ave  it.    See? 

Nan 
The  money  is  mine.    Not  yours.    I  have  a  use  for  it. 

Mr.  P. 
[To  Nan.]    Then  I've  done  with  yer.     You  talk  rude  to  the 

[248] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

quality.  You  give  all  sorts  of  talk  to — Talk  as  'd  sick  a  savage. 
Do  wot  y'  like  with  yer  money.  But  you'll  make  good  my  Toby 
jug,  at  least.     Now  then. 

Nan 


Your  Toby  jug? 

You  know  wot  I  mean. 


Mr.  P. 


Nan 
Aha.     The  little  friend.      My  little  friend.     [A  cry  within.] 
That's  'er  soul's  voice  that  cry  is.    So  that  is  wot 

Mrs.  P. 
And  you  'ad  the  cold  blooded  cheek  to  'ave  your  go  at  the 
parsty,  wot's  more. 

Mr.  P. 
And — there — I'll  leave  you  to  your  conscience.    [Going.] 

Mrs.  P. 
Stop  a  moment,  Will.    Us'll  settle  'er  with  'er,  onst  for  all. 

Nan 
[Going  to  the  money  bag  and  cutting  its  tape.]  Yes.  We'll 
settle.  Look  at  it.  Look  at  it.  [She  pours  the  gold  into  a  heap.] 
Gold.  Gold.  Little  yellow  rounds  of  metal.  Fifty  little  yellow 
rounds  of  metal.  This.  This  is  for  a  man's  life.  Oh,  you  little 
yellow  rounds  that  buy  things.  Look  at  'em.  Hear  'em. 
[Pause.]  Don't  you  speak  to  me.  [Intensely.]  There  was  a 
strong  man,  a  kind  man.  He  was  forty-nine  years  old.  He  was 
the  best  thatcher  in  the  three  counties.  He  was  the  sweetest 
singer.  I've  known  teams  goin'  to  the  field  stop  to  'ear  my  dad 
sing.    And  the  red  coats  come.    And  a  liar  swore.    And  that 

[249] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

strong  man  was  killed.  Sudden.  That  voice  of  his'n  was  choked 
out  with  a  cord.  And  there  was  liars,  and  thieves,  and  drunken 
women,  and  dirty  gentlemen.  They  all  stood  in  the  cold  to 
see  that  man  choked.  They  stop  up  all  night,  playing  cards, 
so  as  they  should  'ear  'is  singin'  stopped.  For  it  goes  round  the 
voice  the  cord  do.  And  they  draw  a  nightcap  down  so  as  'e 
shan't  see  'is  girl  a-crying.  [Pause.]  And  for  that,  I  get  little 
yellow  round  things.  [Pause.]  And  there  was  a  girl,  a  young 
girl,  a  girl  with  a  sick  'eart.  D'you  know  what  came  to  'er? 
You  know  what  came  to  'er.  She  came  among  them  as  might 
have  made  much  of  'er.  For  she'd  'ave  give  a  lot  for  a  kind 
word.  'Er  'eart  was  that  broke  'er'd  'ave  broke  out  a-crying 
at  a  kind  word. 

Mrs.  P. 

When  you've  done  with  your  fal-lals,  I'll  'ave  my  say. 

Nan 

Don't  you  speak.  Don't  you  threaten.  You'll  listen  to  me. 
You  'ad  me  in  your  power.  And  wot  was  good  in  me  you 
sneered  at.  And  wot  was  sweet  in  me,  you  soured.  And  wot 
was  bright  in  me  you  dulled.  I  was  a  fly  in  the  spider's  web. 
And  the  web  came  round  me  and  round  me,  till  it  was  a  shroud, 
till  there  was  no  more  joy  in  the  world.  Till  my  'eart  was 
bitter  as  that  ink,  and  all  choked.  And  for  that  I  get  little 
yellow  round  things.  [Pause  and  change  of  voice.]  And  all  of 
it — No  need  for  any  of  it.  My  dad's  life,  and  your  taunts,  and 
my  broke  'eart.  All  a  mistake.  A  mistake.  Somethin'  to  be 
put  right  by  fifty  pound  while  a  gentleman  waits  for  a  coach. 
'E  thought  nothing  of  it.  'E  thought  only  of  getting  the  coach. 
'E  didn't  even  pretend.  [A  cry  within.]  It  were  a  game  to 
'im.    'E  laughed  at  it.    [A  cry  within.]    Yes.    She  has  seen  her- 

[250] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

self.    No  wonder  she  cries.    She  sees  the  parish  dead-cart  com- 
ing. 

[Dick  puts  his  head  in  at  the  door] 

Dick 
Mother.    Come  to  Jenny.    Quick. 

Mrs.  P. 
To  'ell  with  Jenny.    I've  somethin'  to  attend  to  'ere. 

Dick 
She's  in  a  fit  or  somethink.     Us  can  'ardly  'old  'er  down. 

Mrs.  P. 
[To  Nan.]    More  of  yer  work.    You  wait  till  I  come  back. 

A  Girl 
[At  the  door.]    Quick,  Mrs.  Pargetter. 
[Mrs.  Pargetter  snatches  the  brandy  bottle  and  goes  out] 

Mr.  P. 
I  don't  know  'ow  all  this'll  end,  Nan. 
[He  goes  out] 
[Re-enter  Dick] 

Dick 
I  brought  you  a  little  bit  o'  supper,  Miss  Nan. 

Nan 
What  then? 

[2SI] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dick 
I  thought — Won't  you  sit  down  and  'ave  it,  Miss  Nan?  There. 
Let  me  put  this  chair  comferable. 

Nan 
Why  do  you  bring  this  to  me  ? 

Dick 
I  thought — some'ow — I  thought  you'd  like  a  bit  of  cossitin'. 

Nan 
I  want  nothin'.    Nothin'. 

Dick 
Miss  Nan.     I  want  just  to  say.     Some'ow,  it  be  'ard  to  ex- 
plain.    But  I  ask — I  ask  your  forgiveness.     'Umbly  I  ask  it. 
Oh,  Miss  Nan.    My  beauti-vul.    My  beautivul  as  I  wronged. 

Nan 
As  you  wronged.    Yes? 

Dick 

I  was — I  dunno — I  was  led  away,  Miss  Nan. 

Nan 

Yes,  Dick.    You  were  led  away.  How  were  you  led  away? 
Why? 

Dick 
I  was  that.    When  I  'eard  as  your  dad  was.    I  mean  when  I 

'eard  of  your  dad.    I  doan'  know.  It  seemed — I  felt  some'ow. 

I  be  that  dry  I  can't  'ardly  speak.    Miss  Nan 

Nan 
You  felt  some'ow?    Yes? 

[252] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Dick 


As  your  'air  was,  was  a  cord  round  my  throat.  Choking.  I 
was  sick.    I  couldn't — no — I  couldn't. 

Nan 
And  was  that  the  only  reason  why? 

Dick 
Yes,  Miss  Nan. 

Nan 

And  why  did  you  choose  Jenny?  My  kiss  was  still  warm 
upon  your  lips.  [Going  to  him.]  Your  blood  was  singing  in 
your  veins  with  me,  when  you  turned — Why  did  you  turn  to 
'er? 

[A  pause] 

She  was  not  a — a  gallus-bird.    Eh? 

[A  pause.    Dick  licks  his  lips  and  swallows] 

[Re-Enter  Gaffer  slowly,  with  a  few  roses  plucked  in  the  gar- 
den.    He  goes  to  Nan.] 

Gaffer 

The  moon  be  at  full,  O  wonder.    The  cows  in  the  meadows 

kneel  down. 

The  rabbits  be  kneelin'.    The  vlowers  in  the  'edge  do  kneel — 
Roses  for  your  'air,  my  beauty.     O  my  bright  'ansome  of 

the  world. 

[He  gives  the  roses  reverently] 

Roses  in  your  'air.    And  the  bride's  'air  loose. 

[Nan  places  a  rose  in  her  hair  and  loosens  it  about  her] 
[2S3l 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
[Taking  some  money.]      For  a  'eadstone,  Gaffer.      [Sharply.] 
Well,  Dick. 

Dick 
I  was. — 0,  I  can't.    To  show  that  I  'ad  done  with  yer.     I 
was  angry. 

Nan 

Because  I  didn't  tell  you  of  my  dad? 

Dick 
Yes. 

Nan 
There  be  three  times,  Dick,  when  no  woman  can  speak. 
Beautiful  times.      When  'er  'ears  'er  lover,  and  when  'er  gives 
'erself,  and  when  'er  little  one  is  born.    You — You'd  have  been 
the  first  to  stop  me  if  I'd  spoken  then. 

Dick 
I  thought  as  you'd — not  been  straight — I  thought 

Nan 
And  now  you  turn  again  from  Jenny.    Why  have  you  left 
Jenny,  Dick? 

Gaffer 
[Jangling  and  counting  money.] 
"  Nine.  'Ow  the  bells  do  chime, 
"  Ten.    There's  a  path  for  men." 

Dick 
Because  I  don't  care  for  'er.    Because  now 

[254] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Gaffer 
"  'Leven.    From  the  earth  to  'eaven." 

Dick 
Be  quiet,   Gaffer. 

Nan 
Because  ? 

Dick 
O,  Miss  Nan.     It  be  you  as  I  love.     My  dad  'ave  stop  me 
afore.     But  now  your  name  be  cleared 

Nan 
Is  that  the  only  reason  ? 

Gaffer 
[Talking  through.]  Twelve.  Twelve.  Us  rang  out  a  peal  at 
twelve.  Angels.  Gold  angels.  The  devil  walks  the  dark 
at  twelve.  Ghosts.  Ghosts.  Behind  the  white  'edstones. 
Smite  'em,  gold  rider.  Smite  'em  with  thy  bright  sharp 
spear. 

Nan 
Is  that  the  only  reason?    You  love  me,  then? 

Dick 
Yes.    That's  the  only  reason.    I  love  you,  Nan. 

Nan 
And  what  will  my  aunt  say? 

Dick 
Damn  'er.    It's  'er  that  came  between  us. 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Nan 
I  know  what  you  can  say  to  *er. 

Dick 
What? 

Nan 

Go  to  her  now.    Take  her  that  bag  of  money.    Tell  her  she 
may  have  that.    But  that  you  will  marry  me,  not  Jenny. 
[Dick,  rather  staggered,  takes  up  the  bag  and  walks  slowly  to  door] 

Dick 

Wouldn't  it  be  better,  Miss  Nan,  if  us — if  us  just  told  *er, 

without — without  bein' 

Nan 
I  knew  it.    I  knew  it. 

[A  horn  is  heard  faintly  off] 

Gaffer 

There  be  a  music  on  the  sea,  a  soft  music.  The  ships  be 
troubled  at  the  music. 

Nan 

Come  here,  Dick.  They  said  my  dad  kill  a  sheep.  A  found- 
ered old  ewe  as'd  feel  nothin';  'ardly  the  knife  on  'er  throat. 
And  my  dad  was  'ung;  only  acos  they  said  'e  kill  a  beast  like 
that.  They  choked  'im  dead,  in  front  of  'alf  a  city.  But  you 
come.  And  you  'ave  yer  love  of  a  girl.  You  says  lovely  things 
to  'er.  Things  as'd  move  any  girl — and  only  because  you  be 
greedy.  Greedy  of  a  mouth  agen  your  mouth;  of  a  girl's  lips 
babblin'  love  at  you.  And  a  sour  old  woman's  word'll  make  you 
'it  that  girl  across  the  lips  you  kissed.    In  ten  minutes.    You'll 

[256] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

take  'er  lovin'  'eart  and  'er  girl's  pride,  and  all  'er  joy  in  the 
world,  and  stamp  it  in  the  dust.  And  you'll  dance  on  'er  white 
body;  and  all  you'll  feel  is  the  blood  makin'  a  mess  on  your 
boots. 

[The  horn  blows  nearer] 

Gaffer 
The  horn.    The  horn.    O  night  owl  laughing  in  the  wood. 

Nan 

And  you  go  to  another  girl.  And  you  give  'er  a  joy  in  the 
world.  And  then  you  see  your  old  love  not  wot  the  old  woman 
said.  No.  But  as  sweet  to  the  taste,  as  dear  to  your  greedy 
mouth.  And  with  gold — yellow  round  things — to  buy  vanity. 
'Ouses,  'orses,  position.  Then  you  come  back  whining.  Whin- 
ing!   For  'er  to  take  you  back.    So  as  you  mid  'ave  that  gold. 

Dick 

O,  you  can  talk.  You've  a  right.  But  I  love  you,  Nan.  I 
do  love  yer. 

Nan 

I  see  very  plain  to-night,  Dick.  I  see  right,  right  into  you. 
Right  down.  You  talk  o'  thieves.  You  talk  o'  them  as  kills — 
them  as  leads  women  wrong.  Sinners  you  calls  them.  But  it 
be  you  is  the  sinner.  You  kill  people's  'earts.  You  stamp  them 
in  the  dust,  like  worms  as  you  tread  on  in  the  fields.  And  under 
it  all  will  be  the  women  crying,  the  broken  women,  the  women 
cast  aside.  Tramped  on.  Spat  on.  As  you  spat  on  me.  No, 
no,  oh  no.  Oh  young  man  in  your  beauty — Young  man  in 
your  strong  hunger.    I  will  spare  those  women. 

[257] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 

Dick 

[Scared,  and  speaking  loudly,  so  as  to  attract  them  in  the  inner 
room.]    I  never!    Mother!    Mother! 

Gaffer 

0  Love  you  be  a  King.    A  King. 

Nan 

1  will  spare  those  women.    Come  here  to  me. 

Dick 
Ah!    Ah!    Mother!    [He  backs  towards  the  door.] 

Gaffer 
On  the  road.    They  come.    Gold  hoofs.    Gold  hoofs. 

Nan 

Spare  them.  Spare  them.  Spare  them  the  hell.  The  hell 
of  the  heart-broken.  Die — you — die.  [She  stabs  him  with  the 
pastry  knife.    He  falls.] 

Dick 

[Raising  himself  stupidly.]  The  drums  be  a-roaring.  A-roar- 
ing.    [He  dies.] 

Gaffer 

[Clapping  his  hands.]  Oh  Beauty,  beauty.  Oh  beauty  of 
my  white  vlower. 

[A  murmuring  and  rushing  noise  is  heard  as  the  tide  sweeps  up 
from  the  sea.] 

[258] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Gaffer 


[Shouts.]     It  be  coming.    Out  of  the  wells  of  the  sea.    The 
eagles  of  the  sea  hear  it.    They  sharp  their  beaks. 

[Enter  hurriedly  the  others] 

Mrs.  P. 

[Running  to  Dick.]     Dick.     Dick.     Oh!     [Screams.]     Look 
at  it  all  smoking. 

Mr.  P. 

'Ere.    The  brandy.    Quick.     'E's  gone. 

Nan 
[As  the  noise  increases.]    The  tide. 

Gaffer 
The  tide. 

Nan 

[Laughing.]    The  tide  coming  up  the  river. 

Mrs.  P. 
Take  the  money,  Will.    Don't  'eed  the  brandy. 

A  Girl 
The  pleece,  Artie.    Get  the  pleece. 

Nan 

[Going  to  the  door  as  the  noise  increases.]    A  strange  fish  in  the 
nets  to-morrow. 

[She  goes] 
[259] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  NAN 


Gaffer 


Singing.    Singing.    Roaring  it  come.    Roaring  it  come.    Over 
the  breast.    Over  the  lips.    Over  the  eyes. 

[The  horn  blows] 

Mrs.  P. 

[Putting  the  money  hastily  in  the  locker.]    That's  something. 
Wot  are  we  to  tell  them? 

[The  coach-horn  blows  loudly  and  clearly] 

Gaffer 
The  horn!    The  horn! 

Curtain 


[260] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY 
THE  GREAT 


TO 

MY  WIFE 


ARGUMENT 

In  the  years  50  and  49  b.  c,  Cneius  Pompeius  Magnus,  the 
head  of  the  patrician  party,  contested  with  C.  Julius  Caesar,  the 
popular  leader,  for  supreme  power  in  the  State.  Their  jealousy 
led  to  the  troubles  of  the  Civil  War,  in  which,  after  many  bat- 
tles, Cneius  Pompeius  Magnus  was  miserably  killed. 

Act  I.  The  determination  of  Pompeius  to  fight  with  his 
rival,  then  marching  upon  Rome. 

Act  II.  The  triumph  of  Pompey's  generalship  at  Dyrrach- 
ium.  His  overthrow  by  the  generals  of  his  staff.  His  de- 
feat at  Pharsalia. 

Act  III.  The  death  of  that  great  ruler  on  the  seashore  of 
Pelusium  in  Egypt. 


PERSONS 
Antistia. 
Philip. 
A  Lute-Girl. 
Cornelia. 
Julia 

Q.  Caecilius  Metellus  Pius  Scipio. 
Cneius  Pompeius  Magnus  (called  Pompey  the  Great). 
Cneius  Pompeius  Theophanes. 
Marcus  Porcius  Cato. 
A  Gaulish  Lancer. 
Lucius  Domitius  Ahenobarbus. 
Cotta,  a  Centurion. 
Marcus  Acilius  Glabrio. 
Lucius  Lucceius. 
Lucius  Afranius. 
Publius  Lentulus  Spinther. 
A  Ship-Captain. 
A  Ship-Boy. 
A  Mate. 
A  Boatswain. 
Achillas  Egyptian. 
Lucius  Septimius. 
Centurions,  Sentries,  Soldiers,  Trumpeters,  Sailors. 


Act  I. 
Act  II. 
Act  III. 


Scene. 
Rome. 

Dyrrachium. 
Pharsalia. 
Pelusium. 


Time. 
January  a.  u.  c.  705  (b.  c.  50). 
July  a.  u.  c.  706. 
August  a.  u.  c.  709  (June  b.  c.  48). 
September  a.  u.  c.  706  (Aug.  b.  c. 

48). 
[265] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

ACT  I 

A  room  in  Pompey' s  house  near  Rome.  Walls  hung  with  dra- 
peries of  a  dark  blue.  Doors  curtained.  Balcony,  open, 
showing  distant  lights.  A  gong  and  mallet.  Wine,  glasses, 
etc.    Papers  in  a  casket.    Lamps. 

Horns  without  as  troops  pass.  Antistia  alone,  lighting  lamps 
with  a  taper. 

Antistia 
[Looking  towards  the  window.]  More  soldiers.  Blow  your 
horns.  Spread  your  colours,  ensign.  Your  colours'll  be  dust 
the  sooner.  Your  breath  will  be  in  the  wind,  a  little  noise  in 
the  night.  That's  what  you  come  to,  soldiers.  Dust,  and  a 
noise  in  the  trees.  Dust,  and  the  window  rattling.  No  more 
flags  and  horns  then.  [Lighting  the  last  lamp.]  I  wish  I  knew 
the  rights  of  it.  [Settling  books  on  table.]  I  wish  Philip  would 
come. 

A  Voice 

[Without,  in  the  balcony.]     Pompey. 

Antistia 
What  was  that? 

The  Voice 
Pompey. 

Antistia 

[Frightened.]    Who  calls  Pompey? 

[267] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Voice 
Not  so  loud.    Not  so  loud,  Pompey. 

Antistia 
What  is  it?    What  d'  you  want  with  Pompey? 

The  Voice 
Philip  must  tell  Pompey  at  once. 

Antistia 
What  must  he  tell  him? 

The  Voice 
To  stamp  his  foot  at  once. 

Antistia 
To  stamp  his  foot  at  once? 

The  Voice 
[Amid  laughter.]      Stamp   your   foot,    Pompey.     Aha!   Ha! 
Pompey. 

Antistia 
[Going  to  the  window.]    What's  this?    Who  are  you? 

The  Voice 
[Going.]    Aha!  Pompey.    Stamp  your  feet,  Pompey. 

Antistia 
[Going  to  a  door  R.  scared.]    Philip,  Philip. 

Philip 
[Putting  down  tray.]    What's  the  matter?    What's  happened ? 

[268] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Antistia 
There  was  a  voice.     A  voice.     Something  at  the  window. 
Jeering  Pompey. 

Philip 
[Opening  window.]    Come  out  of  that.    There's  no  one  there 
now.    Was  it  a  man? 

Antistia 
There  was  no  one.     It  had  a  man's  voice.     It  spoke.     It 
laughed. 

Philip 
It's  gone.     It's  gone,  my  dear.     Don't.     Don't.     It's  gone. 

Antistia 
They  say  that  the  dead  come  back.     To  cry  in  the  night 
[pause]  whenever  bad  times  are  coming.     Dead   men's  souls. 
They  want  blood.    Licking.    Licking  blood  in  the  night.    When- 
ever Rome's  in  danger. 

Philip 
Hush.     Hush.     Don't  talk  such  things.     It  gives  them  life. 
What  was  it  saying? 

The  Voice 
Stamp  your  foot,  Pompey.    Stamp  your  foot,  Pompey. 

Antistia 
Ah! 

Philip 

[Exorcising  at  window,  with  things  from  tray.]  Wine  for  blood. 
[Pours  wine.]  Bread  for  flesh.  [Breaks  bread.]  Salt  for  life. 
[Flings  salt.]  A  cloak  of  blue  on  Rome.  A  net  of  gold  over  this 
house.  To  the  desert.  To  the  night  without  stars.  To  the 
wastes  of  the  sea.    To  the  two-forked  flame.    [Returning  heav- 

[269] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

ily.]    God  save  my  dear  master,  Pompey.    I  fear  there's  trouble 
coming. 

Antistia 
[Hysterically.]    Ah!  Ah! 

Philip 
[Pouring  water.]     Drink  this.      Drink  this.     I'll  fetch   an- 
other glass. 

Antistia 
[Hysterically.]    Not  off  that  tray.    Not  off  that  tray. 

Philip 
There.     There.     God  save  us!    Why,  Antistia,  they've  no 
power. 

Antistia 
I  see  the  marching  of  armies.    Dust.    Dust.    That  is  what  the 
trumpets  mean.    War.    Civil  War.    Pompey  and  Caesar.     Like 
eagles  struggling. 

Philip 
No.    No.    Don't  say  that.    You  bring  things  to  pass. 

Antistia 
What  else  could  it  mean?    What  did  it  mean? 

Philip 
[Distractedly.]    I  don't  rightly  know  what  it  said. 

Antistia 
About  stamping?    About  Pompey  stamping? 

Philip 
Pompey  said  it.    In  the  Senate  yesterday.    Reports  came  in. 

[270] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

There  was  a  panic.  The  Senators  were  at  their  wits'  ends. 
News  came  that  Caesar  was  marching  on  Rome.  They  asked 
Pompey  if  he  had  an  army.    If  he  could  defend  them. 

Antistia 
Is  Caesar  coming? 

Philip 
It  was  one  of  these  wild  rumours. 

Antistia 
What  did  Pompey  say? 

Philip 
He  said  if  he  stamped  his  foot,  soldiers  would  spring  up  all 
over  Italy.    Armies  of  soldiers.    To  drive  Caesar  back  into  Gaul. 

Antistia 
And  now  he  must  stamp  his  foot.    Caesar's  on  the  road  with 
his  army. 

Philip 

It's  time  for  the  house  to  shake  when  the  door-posts  quarrel. 

[Pausing  at  distant  tumult.] 

Antistia 
They're  proud  ones,  to  set  the  world  on  fire  so  as  one  of  them 
may  warm  his  hands. 

Philip 
Pompey's  only  defending  the  State.  He  thinks  he's  a  great 
one,  Caesar  does,  now  that  he's  conquered  Gaul.  What  are  the 
Gauls  ?  The  Gauls  are  naked  heathen,  with  copper  swords  like 
the  savages.  Why,  Caesar  would  never  have  been  anybody  if 
Pompey  hadn't  backed  him. 

[271] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Antistia 
That's  reason  enough  for  him  to  fight  Pompey  now. 

Philip 
Pompey  made  him  what  he  is.     Pompey  got  him  his  place  in 
Gaul.    He  was  no  one  before  that.     [Pause.]    And  now  he  hopes 
to  put  Pompey  down.    So  he  can  rule  Rome  instead.    Put  my 
master  Pompey  down. 

Antistia 
I  suppose  Caesar  couldn't  beat  Pompey,  Philip? 

Philip 
Antistia.  [Solemnly.]  Don't  you  talk  like  that,  Antistia. 
I  believe  wherever  Pompey  goes,  there  goes  a  god  in  front  of 
him.  Like  fire.  It's  that  makes  him  what  he  is.  Oh,  my  dear 
beloved  master.  I'm  that  drove  mad,  I  can't  hardly  talk  of  it. 
That  he  should  have  a  civil  war  with  Caesar.  And  him  only 
newly  married. 

Antistia 
It  was  a  civil  war  that  first  made  Pompey  famous,  Philip. 

Philip 
He  was  with  Sulla,  against  Marius.  In  the  civil  wars  then. 
And  ever  since  then  he's  gone  on.  Just  as  though  a  god  went 
before  him,  brushing  a  road  for  him.  You  would  see  nothing 
but  dangers  all  round.  And  Pompey  would  ride  up.  And  [he 
blows  in  his  hand]  puff".  They'd  fade.  They'd  go.  [Pause.]  I've 
seen  all  Rome  out  on  the  roofs  to  see  my  master,  Pompey.  Tri- 
umph? There  were  horns  blowing,  you  couldn't  hear.  And 
forty  kings  marching  barefoot  in  the  streets.  I've  seen  him  grow 
to  be  the  greatest  man  in  the  world. 

[272] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Antistia 

Eh?  The  greatest  man  in  the  world.  And  all  through  being 
with  Sulla  in  the  civil  war.  Supposing  he  were  not  great,  Philip. 
Only  a  big  clay  statue.  A  statue  propped  up  by  sticks.  A  clay 
thing,  gilded.  Rats  gnawing  at  it.  The  wind  shaking  it.  The 
sun  cracking  it.  [Pause.]  And  dead  men,  Philip.  Dead  men 
underneath  it  in  the  dust,  fumbling  at  it  to  bring  it  down. 

Philip 
Antistia. 

Antistia 

Time  brings  all  about,  they  say.  You  spoke  of  Sulla,  Philip. 
I  was  a  little  girl  then,  when  Marius  and  Sulla  fought.  My 
father  was  a  centurion  under  Marius.  I  never  told  you  that. 
What  do  you  know  of  me,  Philip,  except  that  I'm  to  marry  you  ? 
I  was  in  the  street  outside  our  house,  and  some  men  came 
across  the  road.  They  patted  my  head  and  asked  if  my  father 
was  upstairs.  I  said  yes,  Philip.  And  they  went  in  and  brought 
him  out.  Out  to  the  door  in  the  sun.  Some  boys  gathered  to 
watch.  I  ran  up  to  him,  Philip,  to  show  him  my  doll.  And  one 
of  the  men  said,  "  We'll  give  you  Marius."  He  was  behind  my 
father.  He  swung  his  arm  right  back  like  this,  to  give  his  sword 
a  sweep.  He  knocked  my  dada  down  with  a  great  hack  on  the 
neck,  and  they  all  stabbed  him  as  he  fell.  One  of  the  men  said, 
"There's  your  dada,  little  girl;  run  and  tell  mother."  And 
then  one  of  the  boys  knelt  down  and  stole  his  sandals,  and  an- 
other snatched  my  doll  away.  Time  brings  all  about,  Philip. 
All  the  lives  spilt  then  by  Pompey  and  Sulla.  They  are  coming 
out  of  the  night.  Out  of  Spain.  Out  of  Rome.  Out  of  Asia. 
Souls  have  power,  Philip,  even  in  the  darkness,  when  the  time 
comes. 

[273] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Philip 
[Awed.]     What  time? 

Antistia 
Pompey's  time.    There.    There.    It's  beginning.    [Noise  of  a 
tumult.     The  horns  of  Soldiers.] 

Philip 
[At  window.]    Some  of  Rome  seems  to  be  burning.    Pray  God 
the  Senate's  safe.    [Pause.]    We  shall  have  to  put  off  our  mar- 
riage, Antistia. 

Antistia 
Why,  thus  it  is.    We  put  off  and  put  off  till  youth's  gone, 
and  strength's  gone,  and  beauty's  gone.    Till  two  dry  sticks 
mumble  by  the  fire  together,  wondering  what  there  was  in  life, 
when  the  sap  ran. 

Philip 
I  must  be  with  my  master,  Antistia. 

Antistia 
Your  master.  When  you  kiss  the  dry  old  hag,  Philip,  you'll 
remember  these  arms  that  lay  wide  on  the  bed,  waiting,  empty. 
Years.  You'll  remember  this  beauty.  All  this  beauty.  That 
would  have  borne  you  sons;  but  for  your  master.  [A  noise  of  a 
lute  off.]  Your  mistress  too,  perhaps.  Here  she  comes.  Here 
comes  the  young  wife,  that  will  have  little  joy  of  her  man.  She 
with  her  lute  girl,  twanging  a  march  for  her.  Here  she  comes. 
Open  the  door. 

Philip 
Our  mistress. 
[Enter,  Cornelia  and  Julia.     The  Servants  place  chairs  for  the 

ladies] 
[274] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Corn. 
That  will  do,  Antistia.    Philip,  you  may  go.    [Exeunt  Philip 
and  Antistia.] 

Julia 
But  tell  me.     What's  going  to  happen?      Is  Caesar  really 
going  to  fight  your  husband,  or  is  it  only  a  feint  to  get  your 
husband  out  of  Rome? 

Corn. 
I  don't  know  what  to  think,  Julia.    He's  a  danger.    He's  got 
such  power  with  the  mob.     He's  got  this  army  in  Gaul.    Of 
course,  that's  a  very  great  menace. 

Julia 
But  what  are  his  plans?    What  does  he  want? 

Corn. 
He  wants  to  rule  Rome.    He  plans  to  be  elected  Consul.    He 
is  lying  in  Gaul  there,  thinking,  I  think,  to  frighten  every  one 
into  electing  him. 

Julia 
I  wish  you  could  make  your  husband  put  down  all  this  rioting. 
[Noise  without.] 

Corn. 
[Going  to  the  window.]    I  wish  my  father  would  come  in,  Julia, 
I'm  anxious.     What  has  the  Senate  decided?     [She  walks  up 
and  down.] 

Julia 
That  Caesar  must  dismiss  his  army.     I  don't  think  it's  any- 
thing to  make  you  anxious.     How  is  your  father?    What  does 
he  think? 

[275] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Corn. 
He  thinks  that  my  husband  ought  to  put  Caesar  down  with 
a  strong  hand. 

A  Voice  Without 
Present  arms. 

Corn. 
Who's  that?     Come  in.     [The  door  is  shaken  and  opened 
violently.] 

[Enter  her  father,  Metellus  Scipio] 
Father. 

Julia 
We  were  just  talking  about  you. 

Met. 
Where's  your  husband?    Is  he  here?    Has  he  been  here? 

Corn. 
No,  father.    What  is  it? 

Met. 
Still  at  the  House?     He  must  have  had  my  note.     Has  he 
sent  round  to  you? 

Corn. 
No.    What  has  happened? 

Met. 
I  must  talk  to  you,  Cornelia. 

Julia 
[Rising,]    Good-bye,  dear. 

[276] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Met. 
No,  Cornelia.    She  mustn't  go.    You'll  have  to  sleep  here,  my 
dear  girl.    The  streets  aren't  safe  to-night.    Sit  down.     Please 
sit  down.     We're  all  in  the  same  boat.     [Pause.]     Cornelia. 
What's  your  husband  going  to  do? 

Corn. 
Father.    But  I  don't  know.    He  tells  me  nothing.    Nothing 
at  least  that  is  not  common  knowledge. 

Met. 
I've  had  letters.      Caesar's  advancing  into  Italy.     With  all 
his  army. 

Corn. 

To  fight  us  ?    To  attack  Rome  ? 

Met. 
Yes.     It's  what  I  always  feared.     But  I  never  thought  the 
man  would  be  such  a  blackguard. 

Corn. 
Does  my  husband  know  of  this? 

Met. 
Yes.  I  sent  word  to  him  at  the  Senate  to  meet  me  here.  I 
had  to  ride  out  to  the  camp.  Cornelia.  I  don't  understand 
your  husband.  My  dear  girl,  he's  been  playing  with  the  situa- 
tion. I  don't  think  you  understand  even  now.  It  means  that 
the  v/hole  of  Rome  is  being  handed  over  to  a  political  brigand. 
All  the  governing  classes,  the  religion  of  our  fathers,  all  that 
has  made  Rome  great.  This  cut-throat  is  marching  to  destroy 
it.    Something  happened  at  the  camp. 

[277] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Corn. 
What,  father? 

Met. 
The  men.     The  soldiers.     Roman  soldiers.     Men  who  had 
eaten  the   bread   and   salt.      They   refused   duty.      Romans. 
Bribed  to  that.    By  this  upstart,  Caesar. 

Corn. 
They  will  stand  and  see  Rome  sacked  by  this  outlaw. 

Met. 
I  must  see  your  husband.     He's  played  with  us.     He  must 
save  us. 

Corn. 
There.    There.     He's  coming.    There's  the  sentry. 

A  Voice  Without 
Attention.    Eyes  right. 

Met. 
Thank  God. 

A  Voice  Without 
Present  arms. 

Cries 
Hail!   Pompey.     Imperator.     [A  trumpet  blows  a  flourish.] 

A  Voice  Without 
Company.     By  the  right.    Quick.     March. 

[Philip  enters,  opening  doors  wide,  saluting,  showing  the  fasces 
lining  the  door.  Enter  Pompey.  He  carries  a  despatch  box. 
Metellus  salutes.] 

[Exit  Philip.    Doors  shut] 
[278] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 
Ah,  Julia.    Ah,  Cornelia.     [He  goes  to  her,  and  looks  into  her 
eyes.}    Ah,  beloved.     [Slowly.]    There  will  be  always  peace  for 
me,  in  that  calm  soul.    [Turning  wearily.]    I  think  that  Sertorius 
was  right,  Julia. 

Julia 
Why? 

POMPEY 

In  our  long  Spanish  wars,  he  planned  to  steal  away  to  the 
Fortunate  Islands.  He  could  be  quiet  a  little  there.  [He  goes 
to  table  dejectedly.] 

Met. 
You  got  my  note? 

Pompey 
Yes.    Yes.     [He  sits  like  one  stunned.] 

Met. 
Man.     What  are  you  going  to  do?     Caesar's  marching  on 
Rome  with  forty  thousand  men. 

Corn. 
But  you  can  check  him.    You  must. 

Met. 
Do  you  understand  ?    The  whole — Does  the  Senate  know  ? 

Pompey 
[Opening  his  despatch  box.}    Sit  down,  dear.     [To  Cornelia.] 
Sit  down.    The  Senate  knows.     There  were  seven  hundred  of 
us  in  the  Senate.    Seven  hundred  of  the  best  men  in  Rome,  sit- 
ting there,  at  sunset,  waiting.    I  had  to  stand  up,  among  them. 

[279] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

I  had  to  tell  them  that  one  who — that  a  man  whom  I — a  man 
very  dear  to  me — was  marching.  With  an  army.  Against  this 
Rome.  To  destroy  all  that  that  great  house,  in  generations  of 
honour,  has  built  up  here,  of  virtue,  of  justice,  of  freedom,  to 
the  wonder  of  the  world. 

Met. 
Yes.    Go  on.    Go  on. 

Corn. 
What  are  they  going  to  do? 

Pompey 
Many  there  were  in  the  pay  of — that  man. 

Met. 
How  did  they  take  it  ? 

Pompey 
They  were  silent.  But  a  murmur  ran  through  the  house. 
They  moved  in  their  chairs.  Even  those  most  glad  were  awed. 
[Pause.]  Then  Tullus,  a  man  who  owes  his  bread  to  me.  He 
is  in  Caesar's  pay  now.  Rose  up  smiling.  To  ask  me  what  troops 
I  had  for  the  defence  of  Rome. 

Met. 
Yes.    And  you,  the  guardian  of  Rome,  what  troops  have  you? 

Pompey 
I  said  that  with  the  two  legions  sent  back  from  Gaul,  and 
with  those  reserves  called  up  from  the  country,  I  might  have 
thirty  thousand  men. 

Met. 
What  is  all  this  talk  of  you  might  have?    Those  two  legions 
are  in  Caesar's  pay.    They're  in  mutiny  at  the  camp.    They're 

[280] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

drawn  up  there.  Ranged  under  the  eagles.  Their  colonels  are 
Caesar's,  body  and  soul.  They  refuse  to  move.  As  for  your  re- 
serves, they're  with  the  people.  They're  all  for  Caesar.  They 
came  crowding  out  of  their  tents  crying,  Peace!  Peace!  They 
won't  fight.  You've  mocked  us.  You've  tricked  us.  You've  be- 
trayed Rome. 

Pompey 
So  they  said  in  the  Senate. 

Met. 
Why  did  you  not  prepare  for  this  ?    You've  had  months  in 
which  to  prepare? 

Pompey 
I  have  prepared  for  it,  Metellus.  But  I  did  not  expect  it.  I 
thought  that  a  noble  act  would  be  remembered,  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  I  thought  that  this  Rome  would  be  more  to  a 
man  than  a  lust  for  power.  And  old  friendship,  I  thought  some- 
thing. 

Met. 
I've  no  patience  with  you.     [He  sits  with  twitching  hands.] — 
[Starting  up.]     Well.     We  know  what  you  haven't  done.     At 
least  tell  us  what  you  have  done. 

Pompey 
Yes.  I'll  tell  you,  Metellus.  [Pause.]  When  this  began  be- 
tween us,  I  thought  of  my  own  time  under  Sulla.  I'd  carried 
the  eagles  into  Africa.  I  was  a  young  man,  then.  I  did  rash 
things.  But  I  was  lucky.  I  conquered  Africa.  Sulla  sent  word 
to  me  then,  to  disband  my  army,  and  return.  [To  Julia  and 
Cornelia.]  [Pause.]  I  resented  Sulla's  order.  My  soldiers 
resented  it.    They  asked  me  to  be  their  King  in  Africa.    I 

[281] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

obeyed  Sulla.  I  thought — if  I  did — it  might  be  easier — for 
the  next  young  conqueror — to  obey,  too.  Not  to  cause  civil 
war. 

Corn. 

He  thought — we  both  thought,  father,  that  Caesar  would 
remember  that.  We  had  planned  how  all  our  party,  all  the 
Senate  even,  should  go  out  into  the  fields  to  welcome  Caesar.  As 
Sulla  welcomed  my  husband  then.  If  he  came  home  alone. 
Disbanding  his  army.  That  would  have  been  a  triumph  for 
Caesar  greater  than  any  Consulship.  But  Caesar  only  thinks  of 
present  power.  He  would  see  the  glory  of  Rome  pass  rather 
than  not  see  that. 

Pompey 

I  did  not  think  that  Caesar  would  be  blind  to  the  glory  of 
Rome.     [Going  to  the  window.] 

Met. 

I'll  quote  some  other  words  to  you.  Something  which  you 
said  once  in  Sicily.  "  What  is  all  this  talk  of  law,"  you  said, 
"  to  us  that  have  swords  by  our  sides?"  What?  You  remember 
those  words?  Will  you  sit  still,  and  see  Rome  sacked?  See  the 
rabble  make  beastly  all  that  seven  centuries  has  made  here? 
See  their  filthy  hands  laid — laid  on  these  delicate  ladies?  See 
our  temples  spoiled  that  their  rat-faced  brats  may  grow  up  to 
eat  free  bread,  and  loaf  and  spit  outside  the  beer-shops.  Pah ! 
What  did  the  Senate  say? 

Pompey 

They  gave  me  absolute  power  here. 

Met. 
What?    Then  send  out  your  press.     Bill  every  able-bodied 
man.     Bill  the  women  if  the  men  won't  come. 

[282] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Pompey 
No,  Metellus.    Not  that. 

Met. 

What  then,  man?  [Cornelia  interposes.  Speaking  to  her 
husband.] 

Corn. 

It  is  a  question  now,  dear  heart,  of  standing  for  the  right. 
The  right  side  is  always  the  weaker  side.  War  is  terrible.  It's 
such  a  loathsome  kind  of  spiritual  death.  But  it  is  better  to 
have  war,  than  to  see  law  set  aside.  The  will  of  Rome  must  not 
be  slighted.  I  don't  mean  the  popular  cry.  That  is  all  for  Caesar 
now,  dear.  It  was  all  for  you  once.  It  will  be  again.  I  mean 
all  the  burning  thought  of  so  many  generations  of  our  fathers. 
That  must  not  be  set  aside  for  the  lust  of  one  man.  It  is  the 
duty  of  a  Roman,  dear  heart,  to  go  out  under  the  eagles  to  de- 
fend that  burning  thought,  the  Will  of  Rome.  Even  if  he  goes 
alone.  And  you  will  not  go  alone.  The  souls  of  our  fathers  will 
march  with  you.  And  if  you  die,  dear  one,  defending  what 
they  died  to  make,  you  will  die  as  I  would  have  my  lover  die. 

Pompey 
Ah!     Cornelia.     You  make  death  hard.      But  it  would  be 
sweet  to  die  so  for  you.    To  die.    To  join  that  Senate  of  the  old 
Romans;  the  wise  ones.    To  bring  them  news  of  Rome  there. 
In  the  shadows. 

Corn. 
Saying  that  you  come  crowned.    Having  played  the  Roman. 
"Having  obeyed  their  laws." 

Met. 
[Quickly.]     Go  on,  girl.     Oh,  move  him,   Cornelia.     Goad 

[283] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

him  to  action.    I  cannot.     For  Rome's  sake.    Move  him.    Get 
him  out  of  this  child's  mood. 

Pompey 
Yes.  Yes.  Yes.  [Slowly.]      I   shall  fight  Caesar.      [Sharply.] 

Met. 
Ah!  [Excitedly.]  But  at  once.  Give  him  no  time  to  win 
recruits  by  success.  Give  them  no  time  here.  The  rabble  don't 
hesitate.  They  don't  understand  a  man  who  hesitates.  Give 
me  all  the  cavalry.  Look.  I'll  mount  six  cohorts  of  slingers. 
I  can  worry  him  with  those. 

Pompey 
Where's  the  map?     [He  quickly  takes  map  from  wall.]     It's 
the  effect  here,  not  the  beating  of  Caesar.     We  must  stiffen  the 
towns  against  him.     Show  them  that  they'll  have  to  back  their 
choice  with  their  blood.    That'll  check  his  advance. 

Met. 
Caesar's  quick,  mind.      He  marches  light,  and  he  comes  a 
devil  of  a  pace.    [Musingly.] 

Pompey 
You  say  he's  got  forty  thousand  men?      Let's  see  your  de- 
spatch.   Who  sent  it?    [Taking  paper.]    Can  you  trust  this  man? 

Met. 
Yes.    A  clever  young  fellow. 

Pompey 
Young?    Where's  he  served? 

[284I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Met. 
He  was  on  Crassus'  staff  in  Parthia.    In  the  smash. 

Pompey 
I  don't  trust  ghosts. 

Met. 
Ghosts? 

Pompey 
What    escapes   when    an    army's   destroyed   like    Crassus'? 
[Reading.]     Forty  thousand  men.     Shrewd.     This  is  a  shrewd 
lad,  Metellus.    He's  read  a  lot  of  school-books,  this  man.     Come. 
Forty  thousand? 

Met. 
Yes. 

Pompey 
No.  It's  not  possible,  Metellus.  This  is  politics.  Not  war. 
He's  forcing  our  hand.  His  army's  miles  away.  He's  rushing 
the  frontier  with  a  few  picked  men.  The  pick  of  his  light  foot, 
and  these  light  Gaulish  lancers.  It's  a  bold  dash  to  put  all 
Rome  in  a  panic. 

Met. 
[Biting  his  nails.]    That's  not  what  you'd  have  done. 

Pompey 
That's  how  I  know  I'm  right.     [Standing.]    Take  the  cavalry. 
Get  into  touch  with  him.    Harass  him.    Hang  on  to  him.    Worry 
him  all  the  time.    I'll  come  on  with  all  I  can  get. 

Met. 
Take  the  gladiators. 

[285] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 

No.     This  is  a  Roman  question.     No  paid  slaves  shall  decide 
Rome's  fate. 

Met. 
We  shall  be  a  desperate  lot  without  them. 

Corn. 
The  Navy.    Land  men  from  the  ships. 

Met. 
They  can't  march.    This  campaign  is  a  race. 

Pompey 
No.  No.    Look.     [Excitedly.]    I'll  send  gallopers  to  the  fleet 
at  Brindisi.    I'll  tell  them  to  lash  north,  forced  rowing.     They'd 
catch  him  at  Pisaurum.    They  could  cut  in  on  his  left  flank. 
So  much  for  the  attack.    The  city  here's  the  problem. 

Met. 
Damn  the  city  here.    The  city's  for  the  winner.    Always. 

Pompey 
[Musing.]    Caesar's  got  an  army  in  occupation  here  already. 
Now  to  secure  Rome. 

Met. 
[Quickly.]     The  patricians.     Let  the  patricians  form  a  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety.    They'll  settle  Caesar's  mobs. 

Corn. 
No.    No.    There'd  be  massacre  all  over  Rome.    All  frightened 
men  are  merciless. 

[286] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Met. 
Be  quiet,  girl.    Yes,  man. 

Pompey 
No.     That's  the  wild  thing  the  desperate  man  always  does 
to  make  his  cause  more  desperate.    It  would  madden  the  mob 
against  us.    Our  task  is  to  win  the  mob. 

Corn. 
Leave  Cato  in  command  here. 

Met. 
What? 

Corn. 
Let  Cato  raise  a  force  purely  to  defend  Rome.     Not  a  party 
force  at  all. 

Pompey 
Yes,  Cato.    He  stands  outside  parties.     He  has  power  over 
both. 

Met. 
No,  I  say.     Power?    That  man  with  power.     Bah!  He  re- 
minds every  one  of  grandpapa.    That's  why  he's  popular. 

Pompey 
It's  popularity  that's  wanted. 

Met. 
It's  power  that's  wanted.    A  few  crucified  mutineers.     Not 
Cato  telling  us  of  good  King  Numa. 

Pompey 
[Picking  up  the  hammer  of  his  gong.]     We'll  send  for  Cato. 

[287] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Met. 

No.    No. 

POMPEY 

Yes. 

Met. 
Wait  a  minute. 

Pompey 
Well? 

Met. 
We  want  a  soldier  here. 

Pompey 
We  want  a  man  whom  everybody  can  trust. 

Met. 
Cato's  not  firm  enough. 

Pompey 
I  want  Rome  calm,  not  intimidated. 

Met. 
I'm  not  going  to  serve  if  that  man's  left  behind  in  Rome. 

Pompey 
Oh,  don't  say  that.     What  are  your  reasons  against  Cato? 
In  this  instance. 

Met. 
How  will  Cato  deal  with  the  mutineers  in  camp  ? 

Pompey 
Ah !    There.    [Pause.]    Yes.    We  can't  be  hard  on  those  poor 
fellows.    Try  and  see  it  as  they  see  it.     They've  had  the  choice 
of  refusing  duty  or  beginning  a  civil  war. 

[288] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Met. 
A  soldier's  first  duty  is  obedience. 

Pompey 
Is  it?     I'd  rather  have  him  a  man  first,  myself.     Only  very 
good  soldiers  mutiny.    Did  you  never  notice  that? 

Met. 
No.     Nor  you.    They  must  be  made  examples  of. 

Pompey 
[Smiling.]    Come.    Some  wine,  Metellus. 

Met. 

[Crossly.]  This  isn't  a  time  for  wine.  [He  stalks  up  and 
down  the  room.]  Suppose  we're  beaten.  I  tell  you  if  we're 
beaten  you'll  want  more  than  old  Father  Cato  here.  You'll 
want  a  man  to  stamp  out  Caesar's  faction.  I'd  stop  their 
smiling.  By  the  time  Caesar  stormed  Rome  he'd  find  few  of 
his  friends  left.  I'd  make  Rome  so  sick  with  blood.  By.  She'd 
think  no  more  of  Caesar. 

Pompey 

My  God!  The  streets  ran  blood.  In  Sulla's  time.  That 
once.    The  carts  drove  over  them. 

Met. 
That  was  child's  play  to  what  this  will  be. 

Pompey 
Yes.    Suppose  we're  beaten.    Rome  stormed.    No,  no,  never! 
[He  flings  the  map  aside.]     No.     I'll  give  up  Italy  rather.     I 
will  not  fight  in  Italy.     Caesar's  rabble  shall  have  no  excuse 
for  sacking  Rome. 

[289] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Met. 
What?    [A  pause.]    Where  will  you  fight  him  then?    In  Spain, 
where  your  army  is? 

Corn. 
Not  in  Spain. 

Met. 
Why  not  in  Spain? 

Pompey 
No.  You  know  the  proverb.  Spain's  a  country  where  a  big 
army  starves  and  a  little  army  gets  beaten.  I  know,  I've 
fought  there.  And  it's  far  from  Rome,  and  too  near  Gaul.  No, 
Macedonia.  We'll  go  over  with  the  fleet  to  Macedonia.  There 
are  five  good  legions  from  Crassus'  smash  in  Macedonia.  We'll 
prepare  an  army  there. 

Met. 
Yes.     But  your  friends  in  Rome.     Our  party  here?     The 
Senate?    The  Consuls? 

Pompey 
They  must  come  with  us  at  once  to  Brindisi,  where  the  fleet 
lies.  We'll  take  ship  there.  [Writing.]  I'm  writing  to  Domitius 
at  Corfinium,  to  join  me  instantly  with  his  twenty  cohorts. 
[Musing.]  I  wonder.  If  he  stays,  he  will  be  invested.  And  he 
will  stay,  he's  as  obstinate  as  a  mule.  If  he  marches  south  at 
once  we  shall  have  twenty  thousand.  If  not,  we  must  leave 
him  to  his  fate.    I  must  abandon  Italy. 

Met. 
[Slowly.]    There's  something  in  it.    Yes.  I  wonder. 

Pompey 
It's  not  so  risky.    Fighting  now  is  backing  losing  cards. 

[290] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Met. 
We  shall  lose  friends. 

Pompey 
We  shall  gain  time. 

Met. 
Let's  see  the  map.    [He  takes  another  map.]    I  like  it.    Yes. 
It's  a  good  move. 

Pompey 
Caesar  will  attack  my  army  in  Spain,  first. 

Met. 
Afraid  of  its  invading  his  dear  Gaul,  you  mean? 

Pompey 

He'll  have  no  choice  in  the  matter.  He's  got  no  ships  to 
follow  us.  I've  got  the  Navy.  While  he's  building  ships,  I'll 
build  an  Army.  If  he  fights  my  generals  in  Spain,  it  will  be  a 
year  before  he  can  follow  me.  We  shall  have  a  great  army  by 
that  time. 

Met. 

Yes.  An  army,  eh?  Macedonian  phalanx,  eh?  We'll  send 
out  a  fiery  sign  through  Macedonia.  All  the  swordsmen  of  the 
hills  will  come.  Out  of  Dacia,  out  of  Thrace.  Jove,  what  an 
army!    With  Egypt  at  your  back,  too. 

Pompey 
Yes.     Egypt's  full  of  my  old  soldiers.     We  can  always  fall 
back  on  King  Ptolemy.    [He  becomes  sad.}    Ah,  well.    Ah,  well. 

Corn. 
What  is  it? 

[291] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 

[Quickly.]     Nothing.     [He  rises.]     I  was  thinking  of  all  this 
kingliness  wandering  in  little  wild  Greek  towns. 

Corn. 
The  kingly  mind  always  lives  in  a  kingly  city. 

Pompey 
[Eagerly.]    Ah!    Who  said  that? 

Corn. 
You  said  it. 

Pompey 
Ah.     Where's   the   fire  that   scatters  those   sparks?     Why 
doesn't  it  burn  in  us  always? 

Met.  * 
[Excitedly.]  It's  burning  now.  Look  here.  Listen.  Look 
here.  Your  idea  of  Macedonia.  Splendid!  Caesar  won't 
follow.  [Slapping  the  table.]  He'll  be  afraid.  Part  the  world 
between  you.  Let  Caesar  keep  the  West.  You  be  King  in  the 
East.  Build  up  another  Rome  in  Athens.  With  you  in  the 
East,  we  could  do  what  Alexander  did.    We  could 

Pompey 
No   more   ambitions,   Metellus.     You   see  where   ambition 
leads. 

Met. 
[Flushed.]    You  wait  till  you  see  those  Dacians.     Big,  black, 
clean-limbed    fellows,  Julia,    with    swords   and   steel   shields. 
They  charge  like  cavalry.    [He  fills  wine.] 

[292] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

PoMPEY 
So,  Macedonia. 

Met. 
Yes,  Macedonia. 

Corn. 
When? 

POMPEY 

Now,  dear. 

Corn. 
To-night  ? 

Pompey 
It  doesn't  give  you  much  time.     It  will  be  hard  for  you  to 
leave  all  your  pretty  things  behind. 

Corn. 
I  was  thinking  about  your  night's  rest.     Life  is  book  and 
picture  to  me.    All  that  is  Rome  to  us  comes  with  us. 

Met. 
Well  then  [rolling  up  the  map  with  a  click],  boot  and  saddle. 

POMPEY 

Take  what  men  you  have,  Metellus.    And  press  post  horses. 
You'll  want  my  orders  though.    [He  strikes  the  gong.] 

[Enter  Philip] 

Philip 
Sir. 

POMPEY 

Ask  Theophanes  to  speak  to  me  a  moment. 
[Exit  Philip] 
[293] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Met. 
That  Greek  writer-fellow.     I  don't  know  how  you  stand 
that  man. 

[Enter  Theophanes,  who  bows  and  is  saluted] 

POMPEY 

Sit  down.  [He  takes  papers  from  despatch  box.]  We're  going 
to  Macedonia.  We  take  ship  at  Brindisi.  These  orders  to  our 
party.    Have  them  filled  in  and  sent  round. 

Theo. 
Yes.    But  you  won't  want  them. 

Pompey 
You  mean  that — What  do  you  mean  ? 

Theo. 
I  mean,  you  won't  want  them.     Caesar's  at  Cremona.     He's 
not  marching  on  Rome.     He's  encamped  in  his  own  province. 
It  was  a  false  alarm. 

All 
What? 

Pompey 
How  do  you  know  that  ? 

Theo. 
Labienus  has  just  come  in.     Caesar's  right-hand  man.     I've 
been  talking  to  him.      Caesar's  sending  messengers  with  new 
proposals  to  you.    He's  not  marching  on  Rome. 

Met. 
So  we  go  on  again. 

[294] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Pompey 
What  are  the  new  proposals?    Does  he  know? 

Theo. 
[Shrugging  his  shoulders.]    His  men  are  beginning  to  shrink, 
I  suppose,  now  that  it  comes  to  the  touch.    I  don't  blame  'em. 

Julia 
Do  you  think  it's  an  excuse  to  gain  time? 

Corn. 
Ah,  no,  Julia.    Let  us  give  Caesar  credit  for  a  little  nobleness. 

Met. 
Pah!     He  was  in  Catiline's  conspiracy.     It  was  proved  be- 
yond a  doubt.    Well,  Pompey.    What  are  you  going  to  do? 

Pompey 
It  is  very  wonderful.     I  must  see  Cato.    [Going.] 

Met. 
The  lath  and  plaster  Spartan.     Why? 


Theo. 

He's  here. 

[Cato,  in  black  robes. 

enters.    He  stands  with  arms  folded,  look- 

ing 

at  them  all] 
Met, 

Well,  sir? 

Pompey 

Yes,  Cato? 

[295] 

THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Corn. 
YouVe  heard?    Won't  you  sit  down? 

Cato. 
So  this  is  the  family  party.    Well,  Pompey.    Now  I  see  the 
drags  that  hinder  your  honesty.    [To  Julia.]    You.    The  critic. 
You  with  neither  art  nor  brain.    Thinking  you  show  both  by 
condemning  them  in  others. 

Julia 
Do  you  show  art  and  brain  by  condemning  me? 

Cato 
Look  into  your  heart,  woman. 

Cato 
[To  Metellus.]  You,  sir.  The  General.  A  tailor  and  a 
love  affair  made  you  a  General.  Not  war.  War  doesn't  make 
your  kind.  But  you  long  for  war.  You  would  shriek  your 
country  into  war,  any  day,  sir.  So  that  humble  brave  men 
might  make  pickings  for  you.  Invitations.  Gold.  What  you 
call  love  affairs.  Fame.  [To  Theophanes,  while  Metellus 
looks  him  up  and  down.]    I  don't  know  you,  sir. 

Theo. 
A  contributor  to  Time's  waste-paper  basket. 

Cato 
Ah!    [To  Pompey.]    And  you,  the  mischief-maker,  the  genius. 
Well,  which  of  us  was  right,  Pompey? 

Pompey 
You  were  right.     But  I  have  acted  more  friendly  than  Caesar. 

[296] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Cato. 
You  have  made  the  mischief.    Can  you  unmake  it? 

Pompey 
Can  you  unmake  it? 

Cato 
I  ?    I  am  going  into  Sicily.    You  forget.    I  am  Governor  there. 

Corn 
But  now.    In  this  moment  of  truce.     Surely  it  can  be  rem- 
edied ? 

Cato 
Yes.    At  a  price. 

Pompey 
How? 

Cato 
You  must  go  alone,  on  foot,  to  Caesar. 

Pompey 
Never. 

Cato 
And  tell  him  that  you  come  to  save  Rome  from  civil  war. 
That  a  man's  pride  is  a  little  thing  to  that.    And  that  so  you 
have  put  by  your  greatness. 

Corn. 

Ah!    Ah!    [She  watches  Pompey's  face.    All  turn  to  Pompey.] 

Pompey 
No.    I  have  been  a  King  here.    I  have  been  like  God  here. 
Kings  have  come  to  me  on  their  knees.      Caesar.      Caesar's. 
I  made  Caesar  by  a  stroke  of  my  pen.    No.    Ah,  no. 

[  297  ] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Cato 
Caesar  would  be  shamed    to    tears,  Pompey.      Would  not 
that  victory  content  you? 

Pompey 
I  cannot.    No,  I  cannot. 

Cato 
Not  to  save  Rome,  Pompey? 

Pompey 
No.    I  should  be  a  mock.    No.  No. 

Corn 
You  would  be  a  fire,  Pompey,  for  all  time.    All  the  lamps  of 
the  world  would  be  kindled  at  that  nobleness. 

Pompey 
You  wish  it,  too,  dear  heart? 

Corn 

[Softly.]    I  wish  it. 

Pompey 

[Looking  round.]  To  a  young  man.  Whom  I  have  made. 
Oh,  Cato,  Cato!  Is  kindness  to  a  friend  only  a  bitter  form  of 
suicide  ?  [He  fumbles  at  the  clasp  of  his  purple.]  Very  well,  I 
will  go,  Marcus.     [He  slings  his  purple  aside.] 

Cato. 
I  thought  you  were  Pompey  the  Little.     I  wronged  you. 

Met. 
[To  Theophanes.]     So.     [They  exchange  glances.] 

[298] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

Old  man.    Old  man. 

[A  noise  without.  Cries.  A  sentry  calls  "Halt."  Struggling. 
Shouts  of  u Stand  back."  "Let  me  in."  The  spears  rattle. 
The  door  is  shaken. 

Theo. 
[Opening  door.]    What's  this?    [Pause.]    Let  him  in,  Sentry. 

[Enter  filthy  Horseman,  dust  to  the  eyes,  tottering.     The  door  is 
left  open,  showing  Soldiers] 

Met. 
One  of  Caesar's  lancers. 

Theo. 
A  deserter,  eh  ? 

The  Man 
[Gasping.]    Which  of  you  is  the  lord  ? 

POMPEY 

[Pouring  wine  for  him.]     I  am  he.     Drink  this.     Take  your 
time.    What  is  it? 

The  Man 
[Spilling  his  drink  like  a  man  half  dead  of  thirst.]     Caesar! 
Caesar!     I  escaped  last  night.     Caesar! 

Corn. 
What? 

The  Man 
He's  crossed  the  Rubicon.    With  all  his  army.    Marching  on 
Rome.    Be  here  in  two  days.     [A  pause.] 

[299I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 

[Resuming  his  purple.]  That  settles  it.  There  can  be  no 
treaty  now. 

Corn. 

So  war  has  begun. 

Pompey 

[Sadly.]  There  it  is.  Only  it  is  more  terrible  now.  More 
terrible  than  it  was.  [Turning  to  go.]  It  must  be  war  now  to 
the  end. 

Met. 

[Picking  up  the  orders  from  the  table  and  slapping  them  to  com- 
mand attention.]  And  now.  To  Brindisi.  [He  walks  briskly 
towards  the  door,  but  halts  opposite  Cato,  at  whom  he  glares. 
Pompey  and  Cornelia  halt  to  watch  him.]  Well,  sir.  My 
Conscript  Father.  Will  you  crawl  before  Caesar  now,  sir?  It 
is  long  since  a  Roman  bade  his  King  to  lick  the  dust  before  a 
traitor.  You  and  your  kind  may  sue  to  such.  Rome  puts 
other  thoughts  into  our  hearts. 

Cato 
There  are  two  Romes,  Metellus.    One  built  of  brick  by  hods- 
men.    But  the  Rome  I  serve  glimmers  in  the  uplifted  heart.    It 
is  a  court  for  the  calm  gods.    That  Rome.    Let  me  not  shame 
that  city.    Advance  the  eagles. 

A  Voice  Without 
Present  arms. 

[A  trumpet  blows  a  blast] 

Curtain 

[300] 


ACT  II 

Scene  I 

[Staff-officer* s  tent  at  Durazzo.  Walls  of  plain  canvas.  Canvas 
door  running  on  rings  at  back  R.  Smaller  canvas  door  at  back 
L.  Table  and  camp-chairs.  Everything  bare  and  severe.] 
Domitius,  Lentulus,  Theophanes,  at  the  table.] 

Domi. 
So  it  goes  on.    And  Spain  is  lost.    Look  at  this  position  here. 
Caesar  has  shut  us  in  here  like  so  many  sheep  in  a  pen.    Has 
Pompey  no  pride  ?    Or  has  he  grown  besotted  ? 

Theo. 
Flaccus  is  raiding  Caesar's  lines  this  morning.    He  will  attack 
them  in  three  places.    And  break  them. 

Domi. 
[Fiercely.]    Flaccus  is  a  boy.    A  whole  year  wasted,  and  half 
the  empire  lost. 

[Enter  Pompey  hurriedly.    They  salute] 

Pompey 
Good  morning.  I  have  called  you  all  together  to  tell  you  of 
the  loss  of  my  Spanish  army,  lately  commanded  by  Afranius. 
We  had  expected  victory,  from  Afranius'  letters.  But  we  are 
soldiers.  We  know  what  Fortune  is  in  war.  We  are  not  mer- 
chants, to  cast  him  for  failing. 

Domi. 
We  have  given  up  Italy,  and  thrown  away  Spain.    Africa  is 

[301] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

invaded  and  Sicily  taken.  We  have  given  up  and  drawn  back 
everywhere.  And  why?  That  we  might  come  here  to  be  cooped 
up  by  an  army  half  our  size.  I  want  to  know  why?  We  all 
want  to  know  why. 

Pompey 
I  remember  Sulla  saying  that  he  could  make  an  army  love 
him  by  talking  to  the  privates  occasionally.    But  that  no  amount 
of  talking  would  make  his  generals  love  his  ideas.    Be  content. 
And  bide  my  time. 

Lent. 

Magnus.  I  am  not  given  to  criticism;  but  this  biding  time 
is  ruin.  We  are  losing  allies;  we  are  losing  Rome.  Rome  looked 
to  you  to  crush  this  upstart.  Instead  of  that  you  have  let  a 
rebellion  grow  into  a  civil  war.  You  have  watched  your  ad- 
herents stamped  out  piecemeal.    You  have  done  nothing. 

Pompey 
Wait. 

Domi. 
We  have  waited  for  a  year. 

Pompey 
I  ask  you  to  wait  a  little  longer. 

Lent. 
Magnus,  while  we  wait,  the  rabble  is  stamping  out  aristocracy 
throughout  the  world.    [He  rises.] 

Pompey 
Sit  down,  Lentulus.     I  tell  you  to  wait.    The  war  is  in  my 
hand. 

[302] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Domi. 

War  is  in  the  hands  of  the  man  who  strikes.  [He  thrusts  aside 
the  lesser  door.]  There.  Among  the  crags  there.  By  the  pine- 
clump.  In  that  great  red  heap  like  an  iron  mine.  That  is  Cae- 
sar's camp.  I've  been  out  there  night  after  night,  worming 
over  rocks  and  down  gullies,  keeping  my  course  by  the  stars, 
so  that,  when  a  chance  came,  I  could  take  an  army  into  that 
camp  blindfold.  I've  a  map  here.  [Throws  down  a  paper  \ 
Those  red  dots  are  the  sentries.  Each  dot  was  made  at  the  risk 
of  my  heart's  blood.  I've  grovelled  in  the  earth  before  all  those 
sentries,  praying  for  the  moon  to  go  in,  while  they  talked  of 
their  love-affairs.  I've  seen  the  sergeant  coming  his  rounds 
with  a  lantern,  and  shut  my  eyes  lest  they  should  gleam,  and 
betray  me.  I  could  take  that  camp  with  two  legions  in  the 
blackest  night  of  the  year.  This  war  is  breaking  the  world  in 
two.  And  you  send  Flaccus  with  a  corporal's  guard  to  pull 
down  a  hundred  yards  of  paling.  Justify  that,  before  you  tell 
me  to  wait. 

Pompey 

Flaccus  is  fighting  the  decisive  battle  of  the  war. 

Lent. 
This  is  trifling.    [He  rises  and  moves  away.] 

Domi. 
The  decisive.  I  will  tell  you  what  a  decisive  battle  is.  I 
took  part  in  one  for  you  at  Massilia  three  months  ago.  At  the 
end  of  that  siege,  there  was  no  city.  There  were  no  people. 
Only  some  deathsheads  dying  of  plague,  and  a  few  madmen  on 
the  walls.  And  outside,  there  were  towers  flinging  fires  at  us, 
and  slings  flinging  rocks  at  us,  and  miles  of  army  coming  up 
to  the  sack.    That  was  a  decisive  battle. 

[303] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

Domitius,  when  a  man  thinks  fixedly  of  anything,  desiring 
it  with  his  whole  nature,  he  creates  a  strong  pitiless  devil. 

Domitius,  you  are  given  up  to  a  devil.  A  devil  of  lust  for 
battle.  You  are  fiercer  than  a  devil,  for  when  there  is  no  enemy 
you  fight  your  friends,  and  when  there  are  no  friends  you  fight 
yourself.  And  when  you  have  torn  yourself  bloody  you  fight 
ideas,  not  because  you  understand  them,  and  hate  them,  but 
because  when  you  are  not  fighting  you  are  nothing.  I  fear  you, 
Domitius.  A  man's  friends  are  those  who  understand  his  ideas, 
and  advance  them.    You  are  Caesar's  friend,  Domitius. 

Domi. 

[Intensely.]  You  killed  my  brother,  when  you  were  a  young 
man.  For  that,  I  swore  to  tear  your  heart  out.  You  dined  with 
me  once,  twenty  years  ago.  You  will  not  remember.  I  put 
my  hand  upon  your  shoulder.  I  had  a  knife  in  my  other  hand. 
I  could  have  stabbed  you  to  the  heart.  And  there  you  would 
have  died,  Magnus,  before  my  old  Marian  friends.  But  I  saw 
that  you  were  a  better  man  than  my  brother.  Something  you 
said.    I  saw  that  you  were  what  Rome  wanted.    [Pause.] 

IFierceLy.]  You  know  better  than  to  call  me  Caesar's  friend. 
I've  made  Caesar  rock  in  his  seat. 

Pompey 

You  are  Caesar's  friend.  Your  heart  beats  pulse  for  pulse 
with  Caesar's  heart.  You  malign  me  because  my  hands  are 
not  red  from  butchery  like  his.  And  at  this  moment,  while 
you  malign  me,  Flaccus  is  ending  the  war.  Take  no  more 
thought  of  the  war.    The  war  is  over. 

[The  Generals  draw  to  one  side  and  talk  apart  for  a  moment] 

[304] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

PoMPEY 
Rome  is  the  problem  now.     You  would  do  well  to  think  of 
Rome.    This  is  the  seventh  democratic  rising  since  my  boyhood. 
Seven  desperate  attempts  to  change  in  fifty  years.     Does  that 
teach  you  nothing? 

Lent. 


Theophanes. 

Yes. 

Magnus. 


Domi. 
Theo. 


POMPEY 

I  offered  a  broken  and  distracted  Italy.  He  took  it.  A  tur- 
bulent, useless  Spain.  He  took  it.  I  have  flung  down  half  a 
useless  world,  and  he  has  gorged  it  and  come  on  into  the  trap. 
I  am  camped  in  plenty,  with  six  fleets  ruling  the  seas.  Caesar 
is  trenched  in  mud,  living  on  roots.  Besieging  me,  you  call  it? 
He  has  dug  thirty  miles  of  works.  He  has  not  enough  men  to 
guard  ten  miles.  His  men  are  exhausted  and  starving.  He 
stays  in  those  works  during  my  pleasure;  no  longer.  He  cannot 
force  me  to  battle.  He  cannot  raid  my  lines.  He  cannot  go 
back  to  Rome. 

And  I,  with  one  slight  thrust,  am  tumbling  him  into  ruin. 

[Enter  an  Orderly  with  a  despatch.    He  gives  it  to  Pompey] 

Lent. 
From  Flaccus? 

Domi. 
You  are  of  the  Fifth  ? 

Orderly 
From  Titus  Pulcio,  my  lord. 

[305] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 

Very  well. 

Orderly 
Have  you  any  orders,  my  lord  ? 

Pompey 
No  orders.    Acknowledge. 

[Exit  Orderly,  saluting] 

Theo. 
Is  it  important? 

Pompey 
Read  it. 

Theo. 

[Reading.]  From  Titus  Pulcio,  legate,  fifth  legion,  to  Head- 
quarters: "The  attack  under  Valerius  Flaccus  has  been  repulsed 
with  heavy  loss.  The  survivors  have  fallen  back  upon  the  old 
works,  south  of  the  river,  where  desperate  fighting  is  now  going 
on.  I  am  marching  with  what  I  have.  The  enemy  is  in  force. 
Stragglers  report  position  hopeless." 

Domi. 
These  thrusting  youths  want  a  lesson.     Now,  Magnus.     Jus- 
tify your  plan,  now. 

Pompey 
Wait. 

Lent. 
Wait?    While  our  right  flank  is  being  rolled  up?    [Coldly.] 

Pompey 
It  would  take  Caesar  two  days  to  bring  up  enough  troops  to 
crush  our  right. 

[306] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Domi. 
Surely  you  will  smash  this  attacking  force. 

Pompey 
I  am  fighting  with  the  thought  of  Rome  before  me.    I  will  not 
march  back  to  Rome  over  corpses,  in  the  Sulla  fashion. 

Domi. 
At  least  you  will  march  back  over  those  whom  we  took  last 
night.    I  killed  those. 

Pompey 
You  killed  those  men? 

Domi. 
They  were  rebels,  I  tell  you.    Traitors. 

Pompey 
I  will  judge  traitors. 

Domi. 
They  were  my  own  deserters.    Dogs.    I  will  serve  all  traitors 
so.    And  I  tell  you  this. 

Pompey 
Not  a  word.  You  disgrace  our  cause,  Domitius.  [Pause, 
and  change  of  voice.]  I  may  win  this  war.  Or  this  [showing  his 
gold  eagle-clasp]  may  pay  a  camp-trull  yonder.  But  whether  I 
win  or  go  down,  my  men  shall  bear  themselves  nobly.  Those 
on  my  side  must  act  like  knights  of  the  bodyguard  of  God. 
See  to  it. 

[Enter  Chief  Centurion  Cotta,  battered] 
[307I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

CoTTA 
I  report  the  death  of  commander  Flaccus,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
Killed? 

COTTA 

Yes,  my  lord. 

Domi. 
That  is  what  happens  in  skirmishing.    Nothing  is  done,  and 
the  good  man  gets  killed. 

Cotta 
We  were  beaten  back,  my  lord;  the  surprise  failed. 

Pompey 
Yes?    Well? 

Cotta 
We  rushed  their  wall,  tore  up  their  palisades,  and  set  fire  to 
two  of  the  turrets.    Then  they  surrounded  us.     I  should  think 
they  had  two  legions  on  to  us.    We  had  to  cut  our  way  home. 

Pompey 
And  your  commander? 

Cotta 
He  was  killed  in  the  thick,  my  lord.  After  our  storm,  we 
were  driven  back  on  to  the  palisades.  The  pales  were  all  on  fire, 
all  along  the  line,  burning  hard.  I  looked  one  minute,  and  saw 
him  backed  right  up  against  the  flames,  with  a  dozen  Thra- 
cians.  They  had  a  whole  troop  of  lancers  stabbing  at  them. 
I  got  within  a  few  paces  of  him,  trying  to  bring  him  off,  but 

[308] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

the  fire  balls  burst  so  thick  one  couldn't  see.  My  men  were 
being  cut  to  pieces,  the  cavalry  was  cutting  in  on  our  rear, 
and  there  came  a  rush  of  spearmen  which  swept  me  off  the  ram- 
part. I  saw  his  body  falling  back  into  the  fire,  all  lit  up.  But 
we  could  never  get  near  the  place  again.  They  cut  us  to  pieces 
down  on  the  flat.    They  killed  eight  hundred  of  us. 

Lent. 

A  severe  repulse. 

Domi. 
Wasted.    Wasted  lives.    Utterly  useless,  wicked  waste. 

Pompey 
And  then?    What  happened  then? 

Cotta 
They  drove  us  back  into  the  old  works  by  the  river.  Over 
the  outer  wall  into  the  ditch.  [Pause.]  We  were  penned  up  in 
the  ditch  like  beasts  in  a  slaughter-house.  They  swarmed  up 
above  us  on  the  wall,  pelting  us.  We  were  below  them,  grind- 
ing in  the  mud,  huddled  like  sheep.  Men  will  always  huddle 
when  they  have  no  room  to  use  their  shields.  It  was  so  fierce, 
that  I  thought  our  men  would  break.  But  we  could  not  break. 
We  were  shut  in.  We  were  so  pushed  together  that  the  dead 
could  not  fall.  And  being  pressed  man  to  man  gave  us  a  kind 
of  courage.  I  got  up  on  a  heap  where  the  wall  had  fallen.  I 
wanted  to  see.  I  could  see  all  a  wave  of  red  plumes  where 
Caesar's  Gauls  were  pressing  up,  calling  to  their  horses.  Arr. 
Arr.  There  was  a  roar  everywhere  like  ice  breaking  up  in  the 
spring.  Behind  their  main  attack  they  were  making  a  way 
through  the  wall  for  their  horse.     Every  now  and  then  their 

[309] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

picks  flashed  and  the  earth  came  scattering  down.  It  was 
worst  at  the  gate.  The  noise  of  the  axes  on  the  gate  was  like  a 
ship-yard.  They  brought  up  a  tree  to  batter  it,  and  every  time 
they  ran  at  it,  you  could  see  the  wood  give,  in  great  splint- 
ers.    I  thought  we  were  lost;  but  it  was  our  fight,  my  lord. 

For  I  heard  fifes,  playing  "The  Day  of  Zama,"  and  men  sing- 
ing. It  was  a  cohort  of  the  fifth,  marching  to  support  our  left 
flank.  They  came  on  slowly,  in  line,  with  their  heads  up,  and 
the  fifes  playing.  The  centurions  led  them,  singing,  marching 
well  ahead.  It  was  a  fine  thing  to  see  those  men  coming  on. 
Their  ranks  were  so  locked  that  the  oak-trees  on  their  shields 
made  a  green  breastwork  across  their  front.  It  was  our  fight 
after  that.  We  caught  them  in  the  outer  ditch.  The  ditch  is 
choked  with  them.  Caesar  lost  a  full  thousand  there  in  the 
ditch.  They  were  broken.  We  shook  them  to  the  heart.  They 
will  not  face  us  again,  my  lord,  for  a  long  time.  Nor  any 
enemy.     Caesar  will  have  trouble  with  them. 

Pompey 
Very  well,  Cotta. 

Cotta 
They  are  sending  in  the  body  with  a  trumpet,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
Yes!     Send  me  the  returns  of  killed  and  wounded  and  the 
centurions'  reports.    Your  legion  will  stand  no  watch  to-night. 
See  that  your  men  rest.    Order  wine  from  the  sutlers  for  them. 
I  will  speak  to  them  to-night. 

Cotta 
Thank  you,  my  lord.    [He  goes  out,  saluting.] 

[310] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Domi. 
One  moment,  Cotta.    [He  goes  out,  after  him.] 

Theo. 
Caesar  is  sending  a  trumpet.     Can  he  be  suing  for  peace? 

Lent. 

Why  should  he  sue  for  peace  after  a  skirmish  ? 

Pompey 
It  was  the  pricking  of  a  bubble.    He  is  suing  for  peace.    And 
if  I  grant  peace,  I  shall  have  these  to  fight.     And  if  I  refuse 
peace,  this  ruin  will  go  on. 

Theo. 
Do  we  receive  this  trumpet? 

[Enter  Domitius] 

Domi. 
Magnus.      Caesar  is  in  disorder.      His  men  are  leaving  the 
trenches.     He  is  withdrawing.    His  south  walls  are  abandoned 
already. 

Pompey 

Yes.    He  has  learned  his  lesson. 

He  must  pay  them  now  for  the  life  they  have  spent  for  him. 
He  cannot  pay  them.  The  most  that  he  can  do  is  to  save  them 
from  the  result  of  his  insanity. 

Theo. 
He  can  retreat. 

Pompey 
How  can  he  retreat?    He  cannot  retreat.    Where  can  he  go? 

[311] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

My  navies  hold  the  sea.  To  the  north  there  are  savage  tribes. 
The  south  is  blocked  by  my  garrisons.  I  am  here  in  the  west 
with  my  army.  And  to  the  east  lies  Metellus,  with  another 
army. 

He  has  one  chance  of  saving  them.    He  can  sue  for  peace. 

Domi. 
You  are  not  going  to  receive  this  herald? 

Pompey 
Yes.    Rome  must  have  peace. 
If  Caesar  will  make  submission 


Domi.  f  A  surrender  will  be  useless. 


Theo. 
Lent. 


Caesar  must  be  destroyed. 

How  will  you  settle  Rome,  with  Caesar  alive  ? 


Pompey 
This  war  has  gone  on  all  my  life.    Sulla's  method  failed.    Cati- 
line's method  failed.      They  shall  not  be  tried  again.      Rome 
shall  be  settled  this  time  finally. 

Domi. 
If  you  hesitate  to  strike  now,  you  are  a  traitor,  Magnus. 

Pompey 
I  have  made  my  plan. 
[Sternly.]    I  will  abide  by  it.    To  your  place.     Murmur  no  more. 
No  little  gust  of  passion  shall  set  me  wavering. 

[A  Voice  without  and  a  trumpet] 

Voice 
Present  arms.     Port  arms.     Pass  friend.     Present  arms. 

[312] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 

Life  is  nothing.    It  is  the  way  of  life  which  is  so  much.    Enter 
there. 

Cotta 
[Entering]    The  body,  my  lord.    With  the  trumpet. 

Enter  Bearers  with  the  body  of  Valerius  Flaccus.  Cotta  and 
the  others  salute  the  corpse.  Then,  with  a  solemnity  of  trum- 
pets blowing  points  of  ceremony,  Marcus  Acilius  enters, 
led  by  two  Centurions.  He  is  blindfolded.  Cotta,  the 
Bearers  and  the  Centurions  go  out,  when  the  handkerchief 
is  removed. 

Acil. 
I  bring  back  your  soldier,  Cneius  Pompey. 

Pompey 
You  bring  a  message? 

Acil. 
I  come  from  Caesar. 

Pompey 
Well? 

Acil. 
He  asks  you  to  end  this  war.  The  gods  have  given  you  an 
equal  measure  of  victory.  You  have  both  lost  and  won  half 
the  Roman  world.  Now  that  the  world  is  shared  between  you, 
you  can  consent  to  a  peace.  To-morrow,  if  fortune  favour  one 
of  you,  the  fortunate  one  will  think  himself  too  great  to  parley. 
[Pause.]  Caesar  asks  that  a  peace  may  be  concluded.  If  you 
will  undertake  to  do  the  same,  he  will  make  public  oath  to  dis- 
band his  army  within  three  days.    That  is  his  proposal. 

[3i3l 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 

More  than  a  year  ago,  the  Senate  ordered  Caesar  to  disband 
his  troops.  That  decree  still  stands  disregarded.  I  cannot  treat 
with  a  rebel.  Caesar  must  obey  that  decree  and  submit  to  the 
Senate's  mercy. 

Acil. 

The  quarrel  is  between  you  and  Caesar,  Magnus. 

Pompey 
Not  at  all.     I  represent  the  Senate. 

Acil. 
Your  party  of  the  Senate,  which  my  party  does  not  recog- 
nise. 

Pompey 
These  are  the  facts,  Acilius.     Caesar  has  attacked  Republi- 
can rule.    He  has  failed.    I  make  it  a  condition  of  treaty  that 
he  acknowledge  Republican  authority. 

Acil. 

Caesar  has  never  denied  that  authority.  He  is  in  arms  against 
a  perversion  of  that  authority  by  unscrupulous  men.  That 
he  seeks  to  end  the  Republic  is  denied  by  my  presence  here, 
asking  for  peace.  Caesar  is  no  suitor  to  you.  That  great  mind 
is  its  own  sufficient  authority.     Farewell,  Magnus.     [Going.] 

[At  door.]  You  will  grant  peace  if  Caesar  kneels  in  the  dust. 
Very  well.  Rome  is  more  to  him  than  honour.  He  will  kneel 
in  the  dust.  In  the  most  public  place  in  Rome.  He  will  sub- 
mit himself,  body  and  cause,  to  the  judgment  of  the  Roman 
people  there  assembled. 

Will  that  suffice? 

[314] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

No. 

The  mob  has  no  voice  in  this  matter.  The  mob  must  be 
taught  to  obey  its  rulers.     Caesar  must  submit  to  the  Senate. 

Acil. 
Then  the  blood  will  be  on  your  hands,  Magnus.     [Going.] 

Pompey 

It  will  suffice  if  Caesar  surrender  to  myself  in  the  presence  of 
both  armies.  But  a  public  act  of  submission  must  be  made. 
Otherwise  it  will  be  thought  that  Caesar  drove  us  from  Italy, 
and  forced  us  to  accept  his  terms.    That  I  cannot  allow. 

Acil. 

I  am  to  tell  Caesar  that  you  refuse.  [Quietly.]  From  fear  of 
what  the  world  may  think? 

Pompey 

You  count  that  a  little  thing,  the  thought  of  the  world  ?  For 
what  else  are  we  fighting;  but  to  control  the  thought  of  the 
world?     What  else  matters,  Acilius? 

You  think  that  I  am  fighting  to  be  a  master?  Not  so.  I  am 
fighting  because  I  know  what  Caesar  wants.  I  have  watched 
his  career  step  by  step.  Caesar  means  to  be  king.  He  has 
bribed  the  rabble  to  crown  him. 

You  see  only  the  brilliant  man,  winning — what  he  has  the 
power  to  win.  I  look  beyond  that  man.  I  see  Rome  under  a 
secret,  bloody  domination  and  a  prey  to  future  Caesars.  That 
shall  not  be. 

I  am  an  old  man,  now,  Acilius.     I  have  been  fighting  this 

[315I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

battle  all  my  life.    I  hope  now  to  end  it.    You  have  heard  my 
terms.     [He  strikes  a  gong.] 

[A  pause.    Enter  a  Centurion] 

Do  you  accept  them  or  refuse  them  ?    Take  your  time. 

[Pause] 

Acil. 
I  refuse  them. 

Pompey 
[To  Centurion.]     You  will  take  the  Gemella  legion,  drive  in 
Caesar's  outposts  and  burn  the  works. 

[Exit  Centurion] 

Acil. 
There  is  no  voice  for  peace,  then.     I  have  failed.    Now  that 
my  task  is  done,  may  I  speak  with  you  privately? 

Pompey 
Yes.    On  a  private  matter.    Is  your  business  private? 

Acil. 
Yes.    It  is  private. 

Pompey 
[To  Generals.]    Leave  us. 

[Exit  Generals] 
[To  Acilius.]    Be  brief. 

Acil. 
My  mother  married  you.    Years  ago.     She  was  dragged  by 
force  from  my  father  so  that  you  might  be  propped  by  a  vote 
the  more.    She  died  of  a  broken  heart,  in  your  bed. 

[316] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

You  have  taken  worse  props,  now.  These  nobles.  They  are 
using  you  to  stamp  out  democracy.  So  that  they  may  plunder 
in  peace  for  another  fifty  years. 

And  when  you  have  done  their  task.    When  the  war  is  over. 

Pompey 
[Taking  up  gong.]     I  cannot  listen  to  this. 

Acil. 

You  plan  to  make  just  those  democratic  reforms  for  which 
Caesar  is  fighting.  You  mean  to  cripple  the  aristocracy.  And 
they  will  stop  you.  Domitius  hates  you.  Metellus  fears  you. 
Lentulus  is  jealous  of  you.  They  are  planning  to  get  rid  of  you. 
Even  now.    [Pause.] 

Get  rid  of  them,  Magnus.  Take  Caesar  as  your  friend.  End 
the  war.    Drive  them  out. 

Pompey 
And  after? 

Acil. 
You  could  make  Rome  what  you  please. 
[Pompey  strikes  the  gong] 
[Re-enter  Generals] 

Pompey 

And  after?  [Pause.]  Your  party  shall  submit  to  mine.  [He 
writes  a  few  words.]  You  may  take  this  to  Caesar.  [Gives 
writing.] 

Give  this  man  safe  conduct. 

Acil. 
I  am  going,  Magnus.    I  shall  not  see  you  again. 

[317] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
[Theophanes  goes  out) 

POMPEY 

[Who  has  turned  away.]    Well? 

Acil. 
Pride  is  a  mean  thing  in  the  presence  of  death.    To-day  you 
are  great,  and  the  kings  bring  tribute  to  you.    To-morrow  you 
may  be  this.    Only  this.     Praised  by  the  worm. 

[Showing   corpse] 

POMPEY 

You  talk  of  the  presence  of  death.  Man,  I  am  in  the  pres- 
ence of  life,  and  death's  a  pleasure  to  it. 

[Cotta  and  Centurions  enter  with  Theophanes.     They  salute] 

Who  cares  what  I  may  be?  I  may  be  carrion.  But  while  I 
am  man,  and  carry  a  faith  in  me,  I  will  guard  that  faith.  See 
this  man  through  the  lines. 

[With  a  solemn  blowing  of  a  point  of  ceremony,  Cotta  and  the 
Centurions  go  out,  leading  Acilius,  blindfolded.  Murmurs. 
Acclamations. 

The  Generals  eye  Pompey.   He  walks  to  the  body  and  looks  at  it.] 

POMPEY 

Poor  boy.    You  have  gone  a  long  way  from  this  inn. 

When  you  were  born,  women  kissed  you,  and  watched  you 
as  you  slept,  and  prayed  for  you,  as  women  do.  When  you 
learned  to  speak,  they  praised  you;  they  laughed  and  were  so 
tender  with  you,  even  when  they  were  in  pain.  And  to-night 
you  will  wander  alone,  where  no  woman's  love  can  come  to  you, 

[318] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

and  no  voice  speak  to  you,  and  no  grief  of  ours  touch  you  to  an 
answer. 
The  dead  must  be  very  lonely. 

Domi. 

[Coming  forward  and  looking  at  the  body.]  That?  Why  be 
sad  at  that?  He  was  marked  for  it.  [Quietly.]  Magnus.  I 
have  something  to  say.  I  give  you  full  credit  for  what  you  have 
done.  You  were  right.  But  not  so  right  as  I  would  have  been. 
Destruction's  what  war's  for.  Still.  It  has  happened.  Now 
there  is  Rome.  How  are  you  going  back  to  Rome  without  the 
moral  support  of  a  victory  ? 

Lent. 
In  Rome,  it  is  said  openly  that  you  have  been  shuffled  about 
at  Caesar's  will. 

Theo. 
And  that  we  have  been  beaten  in  every  battle. 

Pompey 
What  is  that  noise,  there? 

[Cries  of  "Victory"     Clapping.     Trumpets.    A  cry  of  il  Present 
Arms."     The  spears  rattle .] 

[Enter  Lucius  Lucceius,  in  the  civil  dress] 

Lent. 

Lucceius. 

Theo. 
Lucius  Lucceius. 
[Lucceius  stand  looking  at  them  silently.    He  salutes  the  body, 
and  advances  slowly.] 

[319] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Luce. 

[Slowly.]    I  salute  you,  Cneius  Pompey.    I  come  from  Rome. 

POMPEY 

What  news  do  you  bring  from  Rome? 

Luce. 

News  of  your  triumph,  Magnus. 

Caesar's  army,  under  Curio,  invaded  Africa. 

Curio  is  killed.  His  army  is  destroyed.  Africa  is  saved  to  us. 
[He  takes  a  laurel  wreath.] 

The  Roman  people  send  me  with  this  wreath,  Magnus.  [He 
offers  it,  with  reverent  dignity.] 

Pompey 

[Taking  the  wreath  and  laying  it  on  Flaccus'  head.]  Once, 
long  ago,  I  played  with  you.  By  the  fish-pools  at  Capua,  watch- 
ing the  gold-fish. 

You  asked  me  for  my  purple,  that  glittering  day  long  ago. 
[He  lays  his  purple  over  Flaccus.]  All  things  for  which  men 
ask  are  granted.  A  word  may  be  a  star  or  a  spear  for  all  time. 
This  is  the  day  of  my  triumph,  it  seems. 

[A  distant  trumpet  winds.    It  winds  again] 

Theo. 
There  is  a  horn  blowing. 

Pompey 
It  is  blowing  like  a  death-horn. 

Domi. 
It  is  a  Roman  call. 
In  Caesar's  camp.     [Domitius  flings  aside  the  canvas.] 

[320] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

It  is  the  "Prepare  to  March. "  He  is  in  retreat.  His  huts  are 
burning.  They  are  winding  out  upon  the  road  there.  They 
are  floundering  up  the  pass.  Two  thousand  horse  could  ruin 
them. 

Pompey 

Ruin  is  not  my  province.  Let  them  destroy  themselves. 
They  are  wandering  out  into  the  wilds  without  heart,  without 
hope,  without  plan.  That  is  the  forlornest  march  ever  called 
by  trumpets.  There  is  death  in  every  heart  already.  Well. 
We  shall  follow. 

Call  the  chief  centurions. 

[Theophanes  goes  to  the  door,  to  the  Sentry  without] 

[Going  to  the  body.}  And  to-night  we  shall  be  marching  from 
this  poor  earth,  pursuing  Caesar,  marching  to  many  trumpets, 
under  the  stars,  singing  as  we  march.  I  shall  end  Sulla's  war, 
now.  But  we  will  kill  the  rebellion,  remember,  not  those  Ro- 
mans. 

[The  Chief  Centurions  enter] 

A  trumpeter  there.     Strike  camp.     Prepare  to  march.     [A 
Centurion  going  out,  calls.] 
Take  up  the  body. 

ist  Centurion 
Man  is  a  sacred  city,  built  of  marvellous  earth. 

2nd  Centurion 
Life  was  lived  nobly  here  to  give  this  body  birth. 

3rd  Centurion 
Something  was  in  this  brain  and  in  this  eager  hand. 

[321] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

4TH  Centurion 
Death  is  so  dumb   and   blind,   Death  cannot  understand. 
[They  lift  the  bier.] 

Death  drifts  the  brain  with  dust  and  soils  the  young  limbs' 

glory. 
Death  makes  women  a  dream  and  men  a  traveller's  story, 
Death  drives  the  lovely  soul  to  wander  under  the  sky, 
Death  opens  unknown  doors.     It  is  most  grand  to  die. 

[They  go  out,  followed  by  Pompey] 

[Now  without  comes  a  shaking  blast  from  a  trumpet.  It  is 
taken  up  and  echoed  by  many  trumpets,  near  and  far,  blow- 
ing the  legionary  calls,  till  the  air  rings. 

Curtain 


Scene  II 

The  same.     Taper  light.     Dawn  later.     Pompey  writing.     Enter 

Lucceius 

Luce. 
Not  in  bed,  Magnus? 

Pompey 
I  have  had  evil  dreams. 
Are  you  from  Rounds? 
Is  all  quiet? 

Luce. 
Yes. 

There  is  a  light  near  Caesar's  camp.    They  are  burning  their 
dead. 

[322] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Our  scouts  took  two  lancers.  They  say  that  Caesar's  men  are 
dying.    Of  fever  and  hunger. 

Pompey 
Yes.     He  must  surrender  within  a  few  days.    And  so  they 
are  burning  their  dead? 

Luce. 
Yes. 

Pompey 
Now  we  have  Rome  to  settle.    [Pause.] 
I  lie  awake,  thinking. 
What  are  we,  Lucceius? 

Luce. 
Who  knows?    Dust  with  a  tragic  purpose.    Then  an  end. 

Pompey 

No.     But  what  moves  us? 

I  saw  a  madman  in  Egypt.  He  was  eyeless  with  staring  at 
the  sun.  He  said  that  ideas  come  out  of  the  East,  like  locusts. 
They  settle  on  the  nations  and  give  them  life;  and  then  pass  on, 
dying,  to  the  wilds,  to  end  in  some  scratch  on  a  bone,  by  a 
caveman's  fire. 

I  have  been  thinking  that  he  was  wise,  perhaps.  Some  new 
swarm  of  ideas  has  been  settling  on  Rome.  A  new  kind  of  life 
is  being  born.  A  new  spirit.  I  thought  a  year  ago  that  it  was 
crying  out  for  the  return  of  kings,  and  personal  rule.  I  see  now 
that  it  is  only  crying  out  for  a  tyrant  to  sweep  the  old  life  away. 

Rome  has  changed,  Lucceius.  Outwardly,  she  is  the  same, 
still.  A  city  which  gives  prizes  to  a  few  great  people.  A  booth 
where  the  rabble  can  sell  their  souls  for  bread,  and  their  bodies 

[323] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

for  the  chance  of  plunder.    Inwardly,  she  is  a  great  democratic 
power  struggling  with  obsolete  laws. 

Rome  must  be  settled.    The  crowd  must  have  more  power. 

Luce. 
[Surprised].    That  would  be  a  denial  of  your  whole  life,  Mag- 
nus. 

You  have  been  crushing  democracy  for  forty  years. 

Pompey 
I  have  crushed  rebellions.    I  mean  now  to  crush  their  cause. 
There  must  be  a  change.    A  great  change. 

[Enter  Metellus,  Domitius,  Lentulus] 

Luce. 

[Giving  paper].  This  is  my  report.  [He  salutes  and  goes.  At 
the  door  he  pauses,  looking  out.]  The  pyre  is  still  burning.  They 
must  be  dying  like  flies.    [Exit.] 

Met. 

[As  the  Generals  sit  facing  Pompey].  Caesar  has  sent  to  me 
privately,  Magnus,  to  beg  me  to  ask  terms  from  you.  I  sent 
back  his  letter  without  comment. 

The  war  is  over;  but  we  are  not  yet  secure.  We  shall  have  to 
garrison  the  provinces  for  some  years  with  men  whom  we  can  trust. 

Spain  and  Gaul  are  arranged  for  among  ourselves.  It  is 
the  lesser  appointments.  Magnus,  I  want  your  voice,  on  be- 
half of  Lucius  Tuditanus.  I  was  thinking  of  sending  him  as 
my  deputy  into  Asia. 

Pompey 
Is  that  the  soldier  Tuditanus,  who  did  so  well  under  you? 
[To  Domitius.] 

[324] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Domi. 
No.    His  nephew. 

Met. 
He's  a  young  man  on  my  personal  staff. 

Pompey 
Has  he  qualified  for  the  praetorship? 

Met. 

No.  Not  in  the  strict  legal  sense.  But  he  was  of  the  greatest 
use  to  me  in  Asia.    He  would  be  competent. 

Pompey 
In  what  way  was  he  of  use  to  you? 

Met. 

In  the  collection  of  tribute,  when  they  disputed  our  assess- 
ments. They  hoped  to  wrangle  in  Court,  without  paying,  till 
Caesar  saved  them.  Tuditanus  stopped  that.  He  judged  the 
claims  on  the  spot,  and  the  tax  was  paid,  or  distrained,  there 
and  then.  Often  the  patrols  did  not  have  to  unsaddle.  And 
as  we  needed  the  money  quickly,  the  system  was  of  great  use 
to  me. 

Pompey 

Yes.  But  the  law  is  plain,  Metellus.  A  praetor  and  a  praetor's 
deputy  represent  Rome.  It  is  a  responsible  office.  They  judge 
and  govern  in  Rome's  name.  Men  must  be  trained  for  it. 
What  has  Tuditanus  done,  besides  this  tax-collection,  that  the 
laws  should  be  broken  for  him? 

Lent. 
His  father  has  made  many  sacrifices  for  us. 

[325! 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

There  is  a  growing  belief  in  Rome  that  a  sacrifice  should  be  a 
good  investment.    Anything  else? 

Met. 
He  is  one  of  those  brilliant  young  men,  of  proved  loyalty,  for 
whom  we  ought  to  provide.    I  recommend  him  to  you. 

Pompey 
That  is  much  in  his  favour.     But  I  want  proof  that  he  can 
govern.     Tell  me,  Metellus.     Where  has  he   shown   adminis- 
trative talent? 

Met. 
He  has  not  shown  it.     He  is  a  man  whom  we  ought  to  bind 
to  us.     He  would  soon  learn.    We  could  give  him  a  staff  of  old 
soldiers,  to  steady  him,  at  first. 

Pompey 
Has  he  any  power  of  command  ?    Where  has  he  served  ? 

Domi. 
He  was  in  the  horse  for  a  time,  in  Lycia. 

Pompey 
[To  Metellus.]    What  recommended  him  to  you? 

Met. 
Never  mind  the  merit.     I  am  contending  for  the  principle, 
that  our  friends  must  be  rewarded. 

Pompey 
Yes.     But  praetorian  power.    No.    He  must  qualify. 

[326] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Lent. 
Before  you  reject  him,  will  you  not  see  him?    Metellus  and 
Domitius  would  not  recommend  him  without  grave  reason.     I 
might  say,  without  urgent  reason. 

Pompey 
I  want  an  imperative  reason.     Without  that,  it  would  be  a 
gross  act  of  favouritism.     And  illegal.     As  for  the  results,  we 
have  seen  such  praetors.    We  should  have  a  rising,  and  possibly 
a  frontier  war.    No.    Tuditanus  cannot  be  praetor. 

Met. 

Remember,  Magnus.  Tuditanus  is  one  of  many.  Others 
are  in  the  same  position.    With  a  right  to  expect  employment. 

Pompey 
Peace  will  try  their  quality. 
There  are  men  with  Caesar  with  a  right  to  expect  employment. 

[The  Generals  look  at  each  other  and  sigh] 

Domi. 

There  is  another  point.  We  are  going  back  to  Rome.  Rome 
is  in  a  rebellious,  unsettled  state.     We  must  secure  ourselves. 

I  ask  that  every  man  of  any  standing  in  Rome  be  brought  to 
trial,  even  if  he  have  remained  neutral.  If  the  rebels  have 
attacked  authority,  the  neutrals  have  ignored  it.  And  both 
must  suffer.    Rebellion  must  be  stamped  out.     [Gives  paper.] 

The  four  hundred  men  in  this  list  have  actively  helped  the 
rebellion.  There  can  be  no  question  of  trial  for  them.  I  ask 
that  they  be  put  to  death. 

[327] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

That  is  out  of  the  question.    War  will  end  when  Caesar  sur- 
renders.   I  cannot  allow  reprisals.    I  want  Rome  settled. 

Lent. 
Perhaps  you  will  explain  how  you  plan  to  administer  Rome. 
When  we  return. 

Met. 
[Softly.]    There  will  be  an  amnesty  for  offences  committed? 

POMPEY 

Yes. 

Domi. 
You  will  pardon  these  rebels? 

Pompey 
If  they  submit. 

Lent. 
[Slowly.]    Will  you  allow  them  to  help  in  the  reconstruction? 

Pompey 
[Hotly.]    Yes.     Power  is  in  too  few  hands.    There  must  be  a 
change  in  Rome.     I  would  have  these  four  hundred  firebrands 
made  Senators,  to  help  us  make  the  change  wisely. 

Met. 
So. 

Domi. 

Magnus.    There  is  only  one  way  of  settling  Rome.    By  show- 
ing her  who  is  master  in  a  way  which  she'll  remember. 

[328] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Lent. 
Any  dallying  with  these  rebels  will  leave  us  where  we  were 
before.  Hated,  and  flouted  by  the  rabble,  and  in  danger  from 
it.  Losing  our  privileges,  one  by  one.  Losing  our  possessions 
and  our  power.  Magnus,  I  would  ask  you  to  weigh  this  proposal 
very  carefully.    It  affects  the  future  of  the  patrician  idea. 

Pompey 

And  of  Rome.  What  kind  of  future  do  you  expect  from  a 
massacre  like  this  ?  I  will  tell  you  what  you  will  get.  You  will 
drive  these  four  hundred  firebrands  into  the  Provinces,  where 
it  will  take  five  years  of  war  to  crush  them. 

No.    I'll  go  back  with  peace.    Not  a  man  shall  be  touched. 

Lent. 

Before  we  go  back  with  peace,  we  must  end  the  war.  I  have 
had  letters  from  Rome. 

Popular  voice  in  Rome  says  that  we  have  feared  to  risk  a 
battle.  That  the  war  drags  on,  when  it  could  be  ended  in  a 
day. 

That  we  dare  not  kill  these  representatives  of  the  people. 

That  is  a  dangerous  spirit  in  a  city  which  we  are  about  to 
rule.  That  spirit  can  only  be  broken  by  decisive  success.  We 
must  go  back  with  victory.  A  battle  is  certain  victory  to  our- 
selves.   We  ask  you  to  give  battle. 

Met. 
We  have  asked  this  before,  without  success.  We  ask  it  now, 
feeling  it  to  be  a  grave  need.  Lentulus  has  mentioned  it  as  a 
political  expedient.  I  add  to  that  this,  that  our  treasury  is 
nearly  empty.  We  have  no  means  of  raising  more  money.  We 
have  drained  Spain  and  Asia  for  years  to  come.     And  your 

[329] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

inactive  plan  of  campaign  has  killed  our  credit.    We  must  fight. 
We  cannot  afford  to  keep  the  field  for  another  month. 

Pompey 
Caesar  cannot  keep  the  field  for  another  week. 

Domi. 
Caesar  will  drag  on,  day  by  day,  till  the  corn  is  ripe.     It  is 
not  many  days  now  to  harvest.    You  let  his  men  get  a  full  pro- 
vision and  you  will  see  how  long  they  will  keep  the  field.     I 
could  break  that  impostor's  strength  with  the  horse  alone. 

Pompey 
I  can  break  his  strength  without  risking  a  life.     I  will  not 
give  battle.     Be  thankful  that  we  can  end  such  a  war  with  so 
little  bloodshed.     [The  Generals  rise.] 

Domi. 
You  are  the  oldest,  Lentulus. 

Lent. 
It  may  lose  us  votes,  remember.    You  are  the  most  popular. 

Met. 
Perhaps  I  should  do  it.    I  am  related. 

Pompey 
What  do  you  wish  to  say? 

Met. 
Magnus.     I  have  to  speak  to  you. 
You  love  power  too  well. 
Your  command  ends  with  the  war. 

[33°] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

You  have  tried  to  prolong  your  command  by  neglecting  to 
end  the  war. 

But  the  war  is  over. 

You  plan  now  to  retain  command  while  you  impose  your  will 
upon  the  State.  That  is  a  menace  to  the  Republic.  We  have 
been  forced  to  convoke  the  Senate  to  discuss  it. 

The  Senate  has  sanctioned  the  appointment  of  Tuditanus, 
and  the  list  of  the  proscribed.  It  also  commands  that  you  give 
battle  to  Caesar.     [He  gives  a  paper.] 

[Pompey  walks  up  stage  slowly,  then  down.     He  stands  at  table, 
fronting  them.] 

Pompey 

What  do  you  expect  me  to  say,  Conscript  Fathers?  That  I 
refuse  to  obey  this  order? 

I  could  refuse. 

If  I  were  Caesar,  or  Lentulus.  Or  you,  Domitius,  or  Metel- 
lus.    I  should  refuse. 

And  my  soldiers,  or  Caesar's  there,  would  work  my  will  on 
a  Senate  which  had  so  insulted  me. 

But  I  am  Pompey  the  Great.  I  am  bound  by  my  military 
oath. 

Do  not  think  to  humble  me.  Death  is  a  little  thing  to  the 
loss  of  conscience. 

Death  is  easier  than  life  to  me. 

But  even  if  I  die,  Rome  will  be  a  prey  to  unscrupulous  men. 

There  is  no  hope  for  Rome.    She  ends  here.    Disaster  begins. 

But  for  me,  you  would  now  be  beggars  at  Caesar's  doors.  I 
saved  Rome  from  Caesar. 

And  now  Rome  is  to  beg  her  life  from  you.  You  have  used 
Pompey  the  Great  to  ruin  her. 

But  you  have  first  to  fight  for  her. 

[331] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

You  shall  give  your  sin  a  dignity,  by  risking  your  lives  for 

it.    [He  strikes  the  gong.] 

[Enter  an  Aide] 

[To  Aide.]    Give  the  signal  for  battle.    [Exit  Aide.] 

You  have  your  will,  now. 

This  is  the  end. 

And  at  the  end,  think  what  it  is  which  you  destroy. 

Rome  is  nothing  to  you.  Only  the  reward  of  greed,  and 
hate,  and  pride. 

The  city  where  justice  was  born. 

Look  beyond  your  passions,  at  what  Rome  is.  It  is  the  state 
of  Rome,  not  passion,  which  concerns  us  now. 

A  little  while  ago  she  was  a  market-town,  governed  by 
farmers.    Now  she  rules  Europe. 

And  in  herself  no  change.  Cramped  still.  Fettered.  The 
same  laws.    The  same  rulers.     Like  iron  on  her  heart. 

And  forty  years  of  civil  war.  All  my  life.  A  blind  turbulent 
heaving  towards  freedom. 

[Without,  a  confused  noise  as  of  many  men  stirring  from  sleep. 
Shouted  orders  are  clearly  heard  above  the  murmur.} 

The  Orders 

Fall  in.  Dress.  Cohort.  By  the  right.  Cohort,  to  the  left, 
wheel.  Eyes  left.  Cohort.  Fifers,  three  paces  to  the Atten- 
tion, etc.,  etc.,  Cohort.     Salute,  etc. 

[In  a  moment's  silence  a  trumpet  blows  outside  the  tent.     Cheering.] 

POMPEY 

Five  minutes  ago  I  had  Rome's  future  in  my  hand.  She  was 
wax  to  my  seal.    I  was  going  to  free  her. 

[331-1 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Now  is  the  time  to  free  her.  You  can  tear  the  scales  and  the 
chains  from  her.  You  can  make  her  a  State  so  spendid  that 
Athens  would  be  a  dust-heap  to  her. 

You  will  not. 

You  will  drive  her  back  three  centuries,  so  that  you  may 
wreak  your  passions  on  her. 

Go  on,  then.     Destroy  her.     Or  be  destroyed. 

Whether  you  win  or  lose,  Rome  ends. 

[A  pause.    Orders  without] 

Orders 

The  cohorts  will  advance  in Cohort,  halt.     Ground  arms. 

Attention.    Form  four  deep.    Attention.    By  the  right.    Quick 
march.    Cohort.    Cohort.    To  the  left.    Turn. 

Domi. 
What  orders  have  you? 

[For  the  next  minute  or  two  a  noise  of  troops  moving] 

POMPEY 

You  have  fought  this  battle  many  times  in  your  hearts.  [He 
flings  the  doors  wide,  showing  a  bright  dawn.]  Now  you  will  fight 
it  in  earnest.  You  will  fight  the  wild  beasts  whom  I  could 
have  starved  like  beasts. 

Go  to  your  divisions. 

[The  Generals  go  out  silently.     Pompey  stands  by  the  table] 

Orders 
Cohort.    Halt.    Ground  arms.    Attention.    Form  four  deep. 
Cohort.    Left  turn. 

I  333) 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

[Enter  Philip.    Pompey  does  not  look  at  him.    Fifes  of  a  cohort 
pass] 

Philip 
Do  you  want  me,  my  lord  ? 

Pompey 
[Turning.]    Can  you  sing,  Philip? 


Sing,  my  lord? 

Yes. 

I  don't  know,  my  lord. 


Philip 

Pompey 

Philip 


Pompey 
What  was  that  song  we  had?     That  night.     In  the  Asian 
wars.    When  we  broke  Mithridates? 

Philip 
[Hesitating.]    I  don't  know  whether  I  can,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
Sing. 

Philip 
I'll  try,  my  lord.     [He  repeats.] 

Though  we  are  ringed  with  spears,  though  the  last  hope  is 
gone, 

Romans  stand  firm,  the  Roman  dead  look  on. 
Before  our  sparks  of  life  blow  back  to  him  who  gave, 
Burn   clear,   brave   hearts,   and  light   our   pathway   to   the 
grave. 

[334] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

Take  my  purple,  Philip.     [He  flings  his  purple  aside. 

A  Centurion 
Eyes  left.    Salute. 

A  Cohort  Passing 
Hail!    Pompey.    Imperator.     [Trumpets.] 

Curtain 


[335  J 


ACT  III 

The  Poop  of  a  Lesbian  Merchantman  of  the  First  Century  B.  C. 
On  each  side,  the  bulwark  of  a  ship,  painted  green.     There  are 

gaps,  or  gangways,  in  these  bulwarks,  so  that  people  may  go 

down  the  ship's  side  into  boats. 
At  back  of  stage,  the  poop-rail,  also  painted  green.     A  wooden 

belfry  with  a  bell  stands  upon  the  middle  of  the  poop-rail. 
On  each  side  of  the  bell  is  a  ladder  leading  down  to  the  main  deck. 

Gaps  in  the  poop-rail  allow  people  to  reach  the  poop  by  these 

ladders. 
Above  the  deck,  sloping  from  amidships  like  a  tent,  is  an  awning 

of  blue  and  white  baftas.     This  awning  has  a  flap,  which  falls 

at  back  of  stage,  hiding   the   poop  from  the  main  deck.     On 

both  sides  of  the  stage  the  awning   is  secured  by  stops  to  guys 

above  the  ship's  bulwarks. 
In  the  centre  of  the  stage  {if  the  theatre  stage  is  so  built)  is  a  hatch- 
way, surrounded  by  a  raised  white  rim  or  coaming.     This  leads 

down  to  the  cabins. 
Behind  it  is  a  mast  {painted  "mast  colour")  which  rises  up  through 

the  awning. 
Round  the  mast  is  a  square  of  timbers,  like  a  stout  fence.     These 

are  the  bitts,  to  which  the  running  rigging  is  belayed. 
Stout  ropes  and  blocks  lead  along  the  mast. 
Attendants,  Sailors,  etc.,  etc.,  keep  always  to  the  starboard  side, 

out  of  respect  to  Pompey,  who  uses  the  weather,  or  honourable 

side. 
At  the  rising  of  the  curtain  Captain   is  standing  by  poop-rail, 

looking  at  the  men  at  work  forward.     The  Boy  holds  up  the 

awning  so  that  he  can  see-  under  it.] 

[336] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Chantyman 
[Heard  of,  amid  a  click  of  pawls.}    Old  Pompey  lost  Pharsalia 
fight. 

The  Sailors 
[Heaving  at  the  forward  capstan.] 

Mark  well  what  I  do  say. 

The  Chanty 
Old  Pompey  lost  Pharsalia  fight. 

The  Sailors 
And  Caesar  now  is  the  world's  delight. 
And  I'll  go  no  more  a-roving, 

With  Pompey  the  Great. 

A-roving.    A-roving. 
Since  raving's  been  my  ru-i-n, 
I'll  go  no  more  a-roving 

With  Pompey  the  Great. 

The  Mate 
[From  far  forward.]     Avast  heaving.     Walk  back.     [Pause.] 
Unship  your  bars. 

The  Captain 
That'll  do,  boy.    [Boy  drops  awning.]    Now  we're  riding  to  a 
single  anchor. 

The  Boy 
Yes,  sir. 

The  Capt. 
[Kindly.]    D'  you  know  what  little  port  that  is  yonder? 

The  Boy 
No,  sir. 

(3371 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Capt. 
That's  Pelusium,  in  Egypt.    This  is  the  Nile. 

The  Boy 
Is  this  where  the  King  of  Egypt  lives,  sir? 

The  Capt. 
[Pointing.]      Over  yonder.      Where   all   those   soldiers   are. 
That's  where  the  King  of  Egypt  is.    Young  King  Ptolemy,  who 
Pompey  sent  the  letter  to,  after  Caesar  beat  him. 

The  Boy 
Why  does  Pompey  come  to  him,  sir?    He's  only  a  boy. 

The  Capt. 
It  was  through  Pompey  he  became  king.    And  there  are  lots 
of  Pompey's  old  soldiers  yonder.    An  army  of  them. 

The  Boy 
What  a  lot  of  ships,  sir. 

The  Capt. 

[Anxiously.]    Ye-es.    A  lot  of  ships. 

The  Boy 
They  must  be  men  of  war,  sir.    There's  a  bugle.    Oh,  look, 
sir,  at  those  big  galleys.     Hark  at  the  bugles.     [Bugle-calls  off.] 
Is  that  to  call  the  slaves,  sir? 

The  Capt. 
[Looking  under  the  sharp  of  his  hand.]    Is  that  a  boat  putting 
off  from  the  flagship?    That  big  galley  nearest  to  us? 

1 338] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Boy 
Yes,  sir.     Don't  they  pull  well,  sir?    They're  coming  to  us. 

The  Capt. 
Quick.    Get  the  red  side-ropes  rove. 

[The  Boy  reeves  side-ropes,  which  he  takes  from  locker  by  the 
gangway.] 

The  Boy 
[At  his  work.]    They're  hailing  us,  sir. 

A  Cry 
Ship  ahoy!    Ahoy,  you! 

The  Capt. 
Hulloh! 

A  Cry 
What  ship  is  that? 

The  Capt. 

The  Fortune.    From  Cyprus. 

A  Cry 
Have  you  Lord  Pompey  aboard  you? 

The  Capt. 
Yes.    Lord  Pompey's  aboard  us.    Down  below.     [Pause.] 

The  Boy 
They  seem  to  be  talking  together,  sir. 

A  Cry 
When  did  you  leave  Cyprus? 

1 3391 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Capt. 

[Humbly.]    At  noon,  sir,  yesterday.     [A  pause.] 

A  Cry 
D'ye  hear  there?    You're  not  to  send  any  boat  ashore. 

The  Capt. 
Ay,  ay,  my  lord. 

The  Boy 
They're  pulling  back  to  the  ship,  sir. 

The  Capt. 

[Testily.]  Quick.  Dip  our  streamer.  Dip  our  streamer,  boy. 
Don't  you  know  enough  for  that?  [The  Boy  runs  aft  and  dips 
the  streamer.]  Again.  Now.  Once  more.  Here.  [He  beckons.] 
Go  below  quietly,  and  see  if  Lord  Pompey's  stirring.  [The  Boy 
goes  down  the  hatch.  The  Captain  walks  up  and  down,  uneasily 
looking  at  the  distant  ships.]  No.  No.  I  don't  like  it.  [He 
shakes  his  head.]  I  wish  we  were  out  of  it.  [Re-enter  Boy.] 
Well,  lad? 

The  Boy 

Yes,  sir.    Lord  Pompey's  up,  sir. 

The  Capt. 
Ah.     [Kindly.]     You'll  be  able  to  tell  them,  when  you  get 
home,  that  you  were  shipmates  with  Pompey  the  Great. 

The  Boy 
Yes,  sir. 

The  Capt. 
That's  what  comes  of  being  a  sailor. 

[340] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Boy 
Please,  sir. 

The  Capt. 
Yes,  boy. 

The  Boy 
What  is  the  name  of  that  mountain,  sir? 

The  Capt. 
That?     That's  Mount  Cassius.     There's  a  tale  about  that 
mountain.    Something  about  a  king.    Or  some  one  to  die  there. 
I  forget.     Here.     What  are  they  doing  aboard  those  galleys? 

The  Boy 
They  are  filling  full  of  soldiers.     Soldiers  are  putting  off  to 
them  in  boats. 

The  Capt. 
[Striking  the  bell  once.]    Mr.  Mate,  there! 

The  Mate 

[Below,  out  of  sight.]    Sir. 

[Enter  Mate] 

The  Capt. 
Oh,  Mr.  Mate.    Here,  boy.    What  are  you  listening  at?    Go 
forward.    And  if  you  want  to  see  your  mother  again,  you  pray. 
Pray  that  King  Ptolemy'll  let  you. 

[Exit  Boy] 

[The  Captain  speaks  intently  to  the  Mate.]  Look  here.  We're 
done.  Pompey  isn't  wanted  here.  Those  eunuchs  have  put 
the  King  against  him.  See  those  galleys?  They're  getting 
ready  to  sink  us.     If  you  see  one  of  them  getting  under  way, 

[34i] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

cut  the  cable.     Don't  wait  for  orders.     Cut  the  cable,   and 
hoist  sail. 

The  Mate 
I'll  make  all  ready,  sir. 

The  Capt. 
It  makes  your  blood  boil,  though.    A  week  back  they'd  have 
crawled  all  round  Pompey  for  a  chance  to  kiss  his  footman's 
boots.    Now  they're  going  to  drive  him  out. 

The  Mate 
Well,  sir.    You  can't  expect  gratitude  from  a  king,  they  say. 
The  world's  wide.    There's  other  lands  besides  Egypt.    Egypt's 
got  trouble  enough,  without  Pompey.    What  did  he  come  here 
for?    That's  what  I  don't  see. 

The  Capt. 
He's  had  a  misfortune.     One  doesn't  know  where  to  turn 
when  one's  had  a  misfortune.     And  having  a  wife  and  that. 
Very  likely  he's  beside  himself,  for  all  he  doesn't  take  on. 

The  Mate 
He'd  ought  to  have  come  with  his  fleet.     That  would  have 
frightened  them.     Coming  alone  like  this  makes  people  think 
he's  a  beggar.     D'  you  think  they'll  ram  us? 

The  Capt. 
I  don't  trust  them. 

The  Mate 
The  hands  don't  trust  them,  neither. 

[342I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Capt. 
Ah!  the  growlers.    What  do  they  say? 

The  Mate 
They're  saying  they  didn't  sign  on  to  be  rammed. 

The  Capt. 
They  signed  for  what  I  choose. 

The  Mate 
Yes,  sir.    They're  afraid  of  the  soldiers  and  that. 

The  Capt. 
They  got  sense.     If  I  were  Pompey,  I'd  run  for  it.    A  man 
with  a  wife  like  that  didn't  ought  to  seek  trouble.    Well.    God 
send  pay-day!    Watch  the  hands  and  stand  by.    That's  your 
job. 

The  Mate 
I'll  make  all  clear,  sir.     Bosun,  there! 

Bosun 
[Off.]    Sir? 

The  Mate 
Overhaul  your  gear.    Have  all  ready  for  getting  under  way. 

Bosun 
Have  all  ready,  sir.    I  will,  sir.     [Whistle.] 

The  Mate 
[Going.]    There's  his  steward,  sir. 

[Exit] 
[  343 1 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Capt. 
Steward. 

Philip 
[Entering.]    Sir. 

The  Capt. 
Oh!    steward.      [Philip   approaches.]     Look   here,    steward. 
What's  Pompey's  object  in  coming  here? 

Philip 
He's  come  to  see  the  King. 

The  Capt. 
Is  he  come  to  ask  for  shelter? 

Philip 
He's  come  to  raise  another  army  out  of  all  his  old  soldiers 
here. 

The  Capt. 

He  won't  get  any  soldiers  here.     They're  all  at  the  wars. 
The  young  King's  fighting  his  sister. 

Philip 
That  will  be  patched  up.    The  young  King  thinks  the  world 
of  my  master.     He'll  do  what  Pompey  wants. 

The  Capt. 
He  hasn't  answered  Pompey's  letter  yet. 

Philip 
No? 

The  Capt. 

We've  been  told  not  to  send  a  boat  ashore. 

[344] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Philip 
Well,  all  I  know  is,  the  young  King  longs  to  honour  Pompey. 
But  for  Pompey  the  old  King  would  have  died  a  poor  flute- 
player  in  Ephesus.  You  can  see  for  yourself  he's  coming. 
There's  his  state  barge  at  the  jetty.  Look.  They're  out  on  the 
roofs.     There's  music. 

[Enter  Pompey] 

The  Capt. 

[Unconvinced.]    It  may  be  as  you  say,  steward.    Ah. 
[He  starts,  salutes,  and   hastily   crosses  to   the  starboard,  or  lee 
side.] 

Philip 

My  lord.    Do  you  know  what  day  it  is,  my  lord? 

Pompey 
What  day  is  it? 

Philip 

The  day  of  your  triumph,  my  lord.     Your  Asian  triumph. 
Thirteen  years  ago. 

Pompey 

Is  it  so  long  ago?    That  was  a  great  day. 

Philip 

Yes,  indeed,  my  lord,  I'll  never  forget  that  day.    We  always 

like  to  keep  it  up  with  a  little  something  among  ourselves. 

We  brought  you  a  few  figs,  my  lord.    They're  only  Cretans. 

[He  offers  figs.]     Just  in  honour  of  the  day,  my  lord.     If  you 

would  accept  of  them. 

Pompey 
[Taking  and  tasting.]    Thank  you,  Philip.     [To  the  Captain.] 
This  old  servant  of  mine  is  always  bent  on  spoiling  me. 

[345] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Capt. 
Yes,  my  lord.    So  I  see. 

Philip 
[Going.]    I'm  sure  I  hope  to-day  will  be  a  great  day  too,  my 
lord. 

[Exit  Philip] 

POMPEY 

It  should  be,  Philip.    [He  lays  figs  on  weather  fife-rail.]    Cap- 
tain! 

The  Capt. 
Yes,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
Has  any  one  come  aboard  for  me? 

The  Capt. 
No,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
Thank  you. 

The  Capt. 
Beg  pardon,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
Well? 

The  Capt. 
The  flagship  has  ordered  us  not  to  send  a  boat  ashore.     I 
thought  I  ought  to  report  it,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
Thank  you,  Captain.    A  fine  fleet  here. 

[346] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Capt. 
[Meaningly.]    They  seem  to  be  getting  their  crews  aboard. 

POMPEY 

What  speed  have  those  galleys? 

The  Capt. 
Those  there,  my  lord  ?  They  might  make  seventeen.  That's 
with  good  rowers.  And  dead  calm.  And  the  ships  new  out  of 
dock.  In  a  wind  like  this,  they  wouldn't  make  more'n  about 
eight.  They  can't  work  their  oars  in  a  sea-way.  [Pause.]  Now's 
the  time,  my  lord,  if  you  think  of  putting  to  sea.  By  and  by, 
may  be,  they'll  be  able  to  stop  us. 

Pompey 
Thank  you,  Captain. 

The  Capt. 
I'll  report  any  boat,  my  lord. 

[Exit] 
[Enter  Cornelia] 

Corn. 
Has  the  King  sent? 

Pompey 
No. 

Corn. 
No  answer? 

Pompey 
Not  yet. 

Corn. 
Can  he  know  we  are  here? 

[347] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

Yes.    He  will  come.    He  will  come  in  person. 

Corn. 
Why  has  he  not  come  already? 

Pompey 
It  is  early. 

Corn. 
Do  you  think  it  is  safe  to  wait  ?    It  is  ominous.    This  silence. 
And  all  those  ships.     And  the  people  crowding  on  the  roofs. 
What  if  the  King  be  against  us  ? 

Pompey 
He  cannot  be.    Do  not  be  afraid. 

[Enter  Theophanes] 

Theo. 
Magnus.    They  have  sent  an  order.    We  are  not  to  send  a 
boat  ashore.    They  are  plotting  something. 

Pompey 
If  they  were  plotting,  they  would  ask  us  to  come  ashore. 

Corn. 
But  why  should  we  not  send  a  boat,  if  they  are  friendly? 

Pompey 
The  King  will  be  coming  in  person.    Then  there  was  plague 
in  Cyprus.    We  have  not  got  a  clean  bill. 

Corn. 
But  to  be  ordered. 

[348] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Theo. 
The  Admiral  should  have  come. 

Pompey 
This  is  a  merchantman.    We  are  not  under  Roman  colours. 

Corn. 
The  Captain  there  is  anxious.    Look  at  him. 

Theo. 
Ask  him. 

Pompey 
It  is  necessary  for  the  world  that  I  see  King  Ptolemy. 

[The  Captain  flings  down  the  halliard  coil  and  goes  below] 
Strange.     Is  there  any  Cassius  with  Ptolemy? 

Corn. 
Lucius  Cassius  is  dead,  surely. 

Theo. 
There's  Quintus  Cassius.     But  he  is  in  Spain. 

Corn. 
Is  there  not  Cneius  Cassius  ?    He  was  legate  in  one  of  Caesar's 
legions  ? 

Pompey 
Cneius?    I  thought  he  was  killed? 

Theo. 
I  could  find  out.    Sextus  would  know. 

Pompey 
No.    Do  not  wake  him.    It  is  absurd. 

[349] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Corn. 
Why  do  you  ask? 

Pompey 

When  I  was  in  Africa,  at  the  time,  an  old  woman  bade  me 
beware  of  Cassius.  I  have  not  thought  of  it  for  thirty-four 
years.  An  old  black  hag.  Sitting  in  the  sun,  there.  By  the 
ruins  of  Carthage.  Geminius  was  riding  with  me.  She  hobbled 
up  on  a  crutch  and  plucked  at  my  rein.  u  Young  captain.  You 
beware  of  Cassius.  You  that  ride  so  proud,  beware  of  Cassius. 
The  sand  is  falling." 

Corn. 
Why  should  you  think  of  that  now? 

Pompey 
Because  I  am  going  to  victory,  as  I  was  then.      [The  Hands 
come  aft. 

The  Mate 

[Following.]  Get  down  off  the  poop.  If  you  want  anything, 
send  a  man  aft. 

ist  Hand 
Begging  your  pardon,  your  honour.    We  want  to  speak. 

2nd  Hand 
We  mean  to  speak. 

3RD  Hand 
We  want  to  know  why  we're  brought  here. 

4th  Hand 
And  how  long  we're  to  stay  here. 

[3Sol 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF   POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

2nd  Hand 
He's  been  beaten. 

4TH  Hand 
He's  got  no  friends.    Our  lives  are  as  good  to  us  as  his  is. 

The  Mate 
Down  off  the  poop !   Down  with  you !    Bosun,  there !    [Strug- 
gling.] 

Pompey 
What  is  the  matter?     [Struggling  ends.     Pause.] 

ist  Hand 

Begging  your  pardon,  your  honour.    We  wanted  to  see  the 
Captain. 

Pompey 
[To  the  Mate.]    What  is  their  grievance? 

The  Mate 
Some  more  of  their  fancies,  my  lord.     [To  the  Hands.]    Get 
over  to  leeward. 

Pompey 
They  seem  a  good  lot.    What  is  it? 

The  Mate 
Oh,  the  Captain'll  soon  settle  it,  my  lord.     [To  the  Hands.] 
You  wait. 

[Exit  by  hatch  to  find  Captain.     Pause.     Pompey  takes  a  half 
turn,  and  then  speaks.] 

Pompey 
[To  Hands.]    Of  what  do  you  complain? 

[3Si] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

ist  Hand 
Begging  your  pardon,  you  honour.     We'd  rather  wait  for 
the  Captain. 

Pompey 
What  is  wrong,  though  ?    Tell  me. 

ist  Hand 
I'd  rather  not  say,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
[Takes  a  half  turn,  and  speaks  again.]    Come.    What  is  the 
trouble?    Is  it  the  food?    Or  the  drink? 

ist  Hand 
Begging  your  pardon,  your  honour.    We  don't  like  the  look 
of  things. 

Pompey 
What  things? 

ist  Hand 
Begging  your  honour's  pardon,  the  ships  there. 

2nd  Hand 
They're  getting  ready  to  sink  us. 

Pompey 
Why  do  you  think  that? 

3rd  Hand 
You  can  see  the  soldiers  going  aboard  them,  can't  you  ? 

ist  Hand 
[To  3RD.]    Here  now.    Here. 

[352] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF   POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

3rd  Hand 
[To  ist.]    What's  wrong?    It's  the  truth.    Isn't  it? 

Pompey 

So  they  are  going  aboard  to  sink  us  ?  Why  should  they  sink 
us? 

3rd  Hand 

Because  you're  aboard  us.  [He  stands  out.]  You're  not 
wanted  here.  You're  no  good  to  Ptolemy.  Caesar's  the  man, 
now,  not  you.    You're  no  more  than  what  we  are. 

[To  the  Hands.]  And  we're  to  be  drowned,  are  we,  because 
his  mightiness  that  was  is  worth  more  dead  than  alive?  He's 
down.  He's  no  one.  He's  had  fellows  die  for  him  for  forty 
years.    It's  time  he  learned  what  it  feels  like  himself. 


4th  Hand 
3rd  Hand 
2nd  Hand 


That's  what  I  say. 
Come  on! 

Man  the  halliards. 

3rd  Hand 
We'll  carry  you  to  Caesar.    And  sell  you. 

Pompey 
Stand  back! 

You  say  that  the  soldiers  are  coming  to  sink  us? 
There  are  five  thousand  troops  there,  and  fifty  ships. 
Are  they  all  coming  to  sink  us? 

It  seems  a  large  force  to  sink  one  ship,  manned  by  such  a 
company. 

l3S3l 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

3rd  Hand 
Here.    Look  here! 

ist  Hand 
[To  3RD.]    You'll  get  us  hanged. 

2nd  Hand 
Give  him  sheet. 

4TH  Hand 
How  about  us?    That's  what  I  say. 

Pompey 
If  I  am  still  so  terrible,  I  must  save  you.     I  will  go  to  the 
flagship  yonder.     Man  your  boat. 

3rd  Hand 
You  will  go  to  the  flagship  ? 

ist  Hand 
[Alarmed.]    Look  at  her.    There. 

4TH  Hand 
Look. 

2nd  Hand 

Look  at  her.    She's  got  her  oars  out. 

ist  Hand 
She's  coming.    We're  gone  up. 

3rd  Hand 
Then  he'll  go  first. 

ist  Hand 

[Holding  him.]    No,  you  don't. 

[354) 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF   POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
[Enter  Captain] 

The  Capt. 
She's  coming,  my  lord.    Shall  I  cut?    We  might  do  it,  even 
now. 

Pompey 
She  is  not  coming.    And  if  she  were,  what  is  death  ? 

The  Capt. 
Hard  times  for  the  widow,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
[To  the  men.}    Leave  the  ropes. 

Do  you  think  the  soul  can  be  quenched  with  water?      Or 
cut  with  swords?     Or  burned? 

3D  Hand 
I  know  my  body  can,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
You  do  well  to  fear  death.    Go  to  your  place. 
[Musingly.]    If  death  can  crush  what  comprehends  heaven? 
Why!    We  are  in  a  bad  way,  Captain. 

[The  Hands  file  off,  quietly.  Pompey  looks  down  on  the  main 
deck.  The  Captain  stands  apart  anxiously  watching  the  flag- 
ship.    Cornelia  and  Theophanes  eye  each  other.] 

Corn. 
Is  the  flagship  coming? 

Theo. 

She  is  ready  to  come. 

[3551 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Corn. 
To  sink  us? 

Theo. 
She  could  sink  us. 

Corn. 
I  cannot  bear  this. 

[Pompey  turning,  walks  towards  them] 

Theo. 
We  ought  to  have  gone  to  our  fleet.    We're  helpless  like  this. 

Corn. 
Magnus.    This  isn't  what  we  planned. 

Pompey 
Let  me  reassure  you.    Egypt  is  friendly  to  me. 
I  saved  her  independence.     I  made  the  elder  Ptolemy  King. 

The  young  King  is  my  ward,  bound  to  me  by  intimate  ties. 

Those  troops  are  veterans  of  my  Asian  Army. 

Theo. 
The  young  King's  at  his  wits'  end  with  civil  war.    How  can 
he  begin  a  war  with  Caesar  ? 

Pompey 
Caesar  will  begin  a  war  with  him  whether  he  takes  me  or  re- 
jects me.     Caesar  wants  Egypt,  as  Ptolemy  very  well  knows. 

Corn. 
[Bitterly.]    And  we  are  suppliants  to  him.    We  Romans.    To 
whom  they  should  strike  their  flags.     [After  a  pause,  quickly.] 
See  if  they  refuse  to  salute  us. 

[356] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Theo. 
We  should  know  what  to  expect  then. 

Corn. 
Oh,  let  us  be  certain.    Hoist  your  colours. 

Pompey 
It  is  not  time  yet.    I  will  hoist  them  when  the  watch  ends. 
[The  Captain  strikes  the  bell  once] 

The  Capt. 
One  bell,  my  lord. 

Pompey 

The  watch  is  nearly  out  ? 

The  Capt. 
Nearly,  my  lord.    Will  you  hoist  any  colours,  my  lord  ? 

Pompey 
My  consular  colours. 

The  Capt. 
I'm  only  a  merchantman,  my  lord.     If  they  should  refuse 
to  salute,  my  lord? 

Pompey 
You  will  go  alongside  the  flagship  there,  and  order  her  to 
salute. 

The  Capt. 

[Going.]    I  am  all  ready  to  get  under  way,  my  lord.    Bosun, 
there!    Stand  by.    Mr.  Mate.    Boy,  there! 

[3571 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

[He  goes  to  the  break  of  the  poop  and  looks  down  on  main  deck.] 
Are  your  colours  bent  on,  Centurion? 

Centurion 
[Off.]    Tell  him,  yes. 

Boy 

[Off.]    All  ready  to  hoist,  sir. 

The  Capt. 
[Coming  to  Pompey.]     All  ready,  my  lord.     Will  you  make 
eight  bells,  my  lord? 

Pompey 
When  it  is  time.     [He  paces  leisurely.] 

Theo. 
Have  you  your  tables? 

Theo. 
Yes. 

Pompey 
I  shall  want  you  to  take  notes. 

[To  Cornelia] 
What  was  that  passage  about  the  soul?    We  were  reading  it 
that  day  at  Alba,  when  the  women  brought  you  their  first- 
fruits?     Our  first  year.     We  were  in  the  garden.     You  were 
reading  to  me.    There  was  a  verse  about  the  soul. 

Corn. 
The  upright  soul  is  safe  ? 

[3581 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Pompey 
Yes.    That  was  the  verse.     I  have  always  loved  Alba.    I  was 
there  as  a  child.    We  were  happy  there,  that  year. 

Corn. 
Very  happy.     And  that  day.     The  doves  came,  picking  the 
spilled  grain.    And  at  night  there  was  a  moon. 

Pompey 
All  the  quiet  valley.    And  the  owls  were  calling.    Those  little 
grey  owls.    Make  eight  bells,  Captain. 

[The  Captain  makes  it.    The  Bosun  pipes  the  colours  up] 

The  Capt. 
Not  so  fast  there,  boy. 

[Eight  bells  is  echoed  over  the  harbour  from  ship  to  ship.  Pom- 
pey and  Theophanes  raise  their  right  hands.  Perhaps  Cor- 
nelia ought  to  veil] 

Theo. 
The  flagship  is  hoisting  her  ensign.     [Bugles  off.] 

Corn. 
Will  she  salute?    Will  she  salute?    There. 

Theo. 
There.    She  dips  it. 

Corn. 
They  all  salute. 

Theo. 
Then  we  are  safe. 

l3S9l 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 

That  is  settled,  then.  I  am  to  be  received.  The  King  expects 
me. 

The  Capt. 

I  beg  pardon,  my  lord.  I  think  his  Majesty  the  King  is 
coming  off  to  fetch  you.  The  barge  is  putting  off,  my  lord. 
[Approaching.]  No,  my  lord;  it  is  not  the  King,  it  is  one  of  the 
pearl-boats,  my  lord,  which  work  the  pearl-beds  here. 

Pompey 
Something  of  the  kind.    What  do  you  make  of  her? 

The  Capt. 
They  pull  very  badly,  my  lord.    They  pull  like  soldiers. 

Pompey 
They  are  soldiers.    I  see  the  gleam  of  armour. 

Theo. 
Seven  soldiers. 

The  Capt. 
Am  I  to  let  them  alongside,  my  lord? 

Pompey 
Wait. 

Theo. 
Has  he  sent  a  boat  like  that  for  you  ? 

Corn. 
You  cannot  go  in  that  old  boat. 

[360] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT  - 

Theo. 
Magnus.    There  is  some  treachery. 

Corn. 
Cneius.    It  is  a  dreadful  risk.    To  stay. 

Pompey 
It  is  necessary.    I  must  carry  this  thing  through.    You  would 
rather  I  ran  the  risk  than  let  the  world  become — what  it  will 
become. 

Corn. 
Much  rather. 

Pompey 
You  will  understand,  then. 

The  Capt. 
They  are  hailing,  my  lord.     Would  the  lady  go  below  a  little? 
They  might  fling  a  dart  on  board. 

Corn. 
The  air  is  fresher  here. 

Sept. 
[Off.]     Hail!    Pompey.     Imperator. 

The  Capt. 
We  could  still  run  for  it,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
We  must  not  show  that  we  mistrust  them. 

[361] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Sept. 
[Off.]    Hail,  Pompey,  Imperator! 

POMPEY 

Have  your  men  ready  to  salute. 

Sept. 
[Off.]    In  bow. 

Corn. 
Cneius.     Cneius. 

Pompey 
There  is  no  danger.    Have  you  the  little  book  with  my  speech 
to  Ptolemy? 

Corn. 
Here  it  is. 

Sept. 
[Off.]    Toss  your  starboard  oars.    Way  enough. 

Pompey 
Company  there.    Salute. 

The  Capt. 
The  call,  there. 

[Enter  Septimius,  a  Roman  military  tribune,  with  Achillas 
Egyptian,  both  in  military  dress.  The  Bosun  pipes  the  side 
for  each  of  them.] 

Pompey 
[Advancing.]     You  come  from  King  Ptolemy?      [Septimius 
salutes,  Achillas  bows.] 

ACHIL. 

From  King  Ptolemy.    He  sends  you  royal  greeting. 

[362] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

He  wishes  to  see  me  ? 

Achil. 
He  wish  to  see  you.    To  be  your  friend. 

Pompey 
Shall  I  bring  the  ship  alongside  the  quay  there? 

Achil. 
There  is  much  mud   and   sandbanks.     There  would  be  no 
water  for  this  galley.    You  have  to  take  a  boat. 

Pompey 
[Glancing  at  ships.]     Your  fleet  is  getting  under  way  here? 

Achil. 
[Shrugging  his  shoulders.]    Ah  ?    Will  you  come  into  my  boat  ? 

Pompey 
She  is  not  a  very  handsome  boat. 

Achil. 
No?     It  is  bad  weather  sometimes. 

Pompey 
[To  Septimius.]      I  think  I  should  know  you,  my  friend. 
You  and  I  have  served  together?     [Septimius  nods,  but  does 
not  answer.] 

Where  was  it?    I  know  your  face.     [No  answer.] 
A  long  time  ago.     Eighteen  years  ago.     In  the  war  against 
the  pirates?    [Pause.]    Was  it  not?         [No  answer.] 

[363] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

You  commanded  a  company  in  my  guard.  [Pause.]  You 
did  something?  You  burnt  a  ship  one  night?  You  paddled 
out  alone  and  set  fire  to  her?  I  remember  you.  I  gave  you  a 
sword.    You  are  wearing  it  now. 

Sept. 
[Turning  to  the  boat,  muttering  to  himself.}    I'm  as  good  a  man 
as  you  are. 

ACHIL. 

You  come  in  my  little  boat.  I  take  you  to  the  King.  The 
King  is  your  friend.     Lovely  lady,  the  King  want  to  see  him. 

Corn. 
Yes. 

POMPEY 

I  will  follow  you.    Go  down  into  the  boat. 
[Achillas,  bowing,  goes  to  gangway,  where  he  stands,  looking  aft.] 

POMPEY 

Now. 

Theo. 
Magnus.    You  mustn't  go. 

Corn. 
Cneius     Cneius.    What  do  they  mean? 

Theo. 
You  mustn't  go,  Magnus. 

Pompey 
My  beloved!     You  must  stay  here.     You  must  not  come. 

Corn. 
My  darling!    What  are  they  going  to  do? 

[364I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF   POMPEY  THE  GREAT 
POMPEY 

What  God  wills. 

Theophanes.  If  this  is  the  end,  I  wish  it  to  be  the  end.  Those 
arrangements  of  the  fleet.  Cancel  them.  You  understand.  Go 
to  Cato.  Tell  Cato  to  submit  to  Caesar.  War  will  only  mean 
more  bloodshed.    He  cannot  stand  against  Caesar.    I  could  have. 

Scipio's  daughter.  Make  your  father  submit  to  Caesar.  Keep 
my  sons  out  of  it.  Tell  them.  End  the  war.  Life  is  very  grand 
but  there  is  something  behind  it.  Something  which  strikes  a 
mean.  I  had  my  hand  on  it.  Come.  Courage.  These  are 
Egyptians.     [To  Cornelia.] 

Captain.     You  must  sail.     Stand  by. 

What  else  is  there?  Asia.  Theophanes.  Asia  must  submit. 
Send  to  the  Kings.  The  world  must  make  what  terms  it  can. 
This  is  all  in  the  event.  If  this  is  the  end.  You  understand? 
If  not,  you  know  my  orders. 

Philip.     Scythes.     Cotta.    Go  down  into  the  boat. 

Philip 
My  lord.    I've  served  you  a  long  time,  my  lord. 

Pompey 
What  is  it,  Philip  ?     [Cotta  and  Scythes  go.] 

Philip 
My  lord.    My  old,  beloved  lord. 

Pompey 
Why,  Philip.    We  are  the  only  ones  left.     We  are  two  old 
Sulla's  men.    Have  you  my  cloak  in  the  boat? 

Philip 
Forty  years,  my  lord. 

[365] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Pompey 

The  broidered  one.  [To  Cornelia.]  Your  gift.  Come. 
Carry  it  down,  man. 

Philip 
I  wish  it  was  to  begin  all  over  again. 

[Exit] 

ACHIL. 

Will  you  come  into  the  boat  ?    The  King  is  waiting. 

Corn. 
Cneius.     My  husband.     My  husband. 

Pompey 

God  only  lends  us. 

If  the  King  keep  faith.  We  shall  have  time.  Time  for  what 
we  must  imagine.  If  not.  We  know  our  love.  The  gods  treas- 
ure you.     [He  goes  towards  gangway.] 

Remember,  Captain. 

Theophanes.    If  I  fail,  you  must  warn  Lentulus. 

[He  goes  to  gangway.  The  Bosun  starts  to  pipe  the  side.  Pom- 
pey turns  to  the  Boy.  Bosun  stops  his  pipe.  Pompey  takes 
figs  from  fife-rail  and  gives  them  to  the  Boy.] 

Can  you  eat  figs?     [The  Boy  mumbles.] 

What  is  your  name?     [The  Boy  bursts  into  tears.] 

ACHIL. 

[At  gangway.]    Give  me  your  hand.    I  take  your  hand  down. 

[366] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

POMPEY 

[Pausing  in  the  gangway  and  looking  back.    Sadly.      To  The- 

OPHANES.] 

"Into  a  tyrant's  court  the  truly  brave 
Goes  proudly,  though  he  go  to  die  a  slave." 

[He  goes  down.     The  Bosun  pipes  the  side] 

Sept. 
[Coldly.]     Back  your  port  oars.     Shove  off.     Give  way  to- 
gether. 

The  Capt. 

[Softly  to  Mate.]    Go  on  there.    Man  your  halliards. 

The  Mate 
Take  the  turns  off.    Stretch  it  along.    Softly  now.    Stand  by. 
[The    Seamen    coming    behind   Cornelia,    man   the   halliards. 
The  Chantyman  stands  on  the  bitts.    All  look  after  the  boat.] 

The  Chanty 
There's  a  lot  of  troops  ashore. 

The  Mate 
SYt. 

Corn. 

They  are  not  talking  to  him. 

Theo. 
He  is  reading  his  speech.    [Pause.]    He  organises  everything. 
Caesar  improvises. 

Corn. 

There  they  go  out  of  the  sun. 

[367] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Theo. 
The  hill  casts  a  long  shadow. 

Corn. 
What  is  the  name  of  the  hill? 

The  Capt. 
Mount  Cassius,  lady. 

Theo. 
[Quickly.]    They  are  coming  with  banners.    Look. 

Corn. 
He  is  safe. 

Theo. 
There  comes  the  King.   Hark!    Trumpets.   They're  saluting. 
He  is  standing  up  to  land. 

Corn. 
Ah!    Swords.    He  is  stabbed. 

Theo. 
Ah!  you  gods.    You  gods! 

Corn. 
Oh!  He  is  killed!  He  is  killed!   He  is  killed!    [She  collapses.] 

Theo. 
[Covering  his  eyes.]    The  devils!    The  devils! 

The  Mate 
They  stabbed  him  in  the  back. 

[368] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Antistia 
It's  ebb-tide  now,  my  beauty. 

The  Capt. 
[Yelling.]    Cut  the  cable.     [Chopping  forward.] 

A  Voice 
All  gone,  the  cable. 

The  Mate 
Let  fall. 

A  Voice 
All  gone. 

The  Mate. 
Sheet  home.     Hoist  away. 

The  Men 
Ho.     [They  haul.] 

The  Chanty 
Away  ho!     [The  Men  haul.] 
[He  intones  in  a  clear  loud  voice.      The  Seamen  sing  the  chorus, 

hauling. 
[This  song  is  sung  like  an  ordinary  halliard  chanty.  The  chorus 
is  to  the  tune  of  the  old  chanty  of  "Hanging  Johnny"  The  solo 
will  be  intoned  clearly,  without  tune.  It  goes  to  fast  time,  the 
chorus  starting  almost  before  the  soloist  ends  his  line.  The 
Men  must  haul  twice,  in  the  proper  manner,  in  each  chorus. 
The  hauling  will  have  for  natural  accompaniments  the  whine 
of  the  three-sheaved  block,  the  grunt  of  the  parrels  and  the 
slat  from  the  great  sail.] 

[369] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

The  Chanty 
Kneel  to  the  beautiful  women  who  bear  us  this  strange  brave 
fruit. 

The  Men 
Away,  i-oh. 

The  Chanty 
Man  with  his  soul  so  noble:  man  half  god  and  half  brute. 

The  Men 
So  away,  i-oh. 

The  Chanty 
Women  bear  him  in  pain  that  he  may  bring  them  tears. 

Chorus 
The  Chanty 
He  is  a  king  on  earth,  he  rules  for  a  term  of  years. 

Chorus 
The  Chanty 
And  the  conqueror's  prize  is  dust  and  lost  endeavour. 

Chorus 
The  Chanty 
And  the  beaten  man  becomes  a  story  for  ever. 

Chorus 

The  Chanty 

For  the  gods  employ  strange  means  to  bring  their  will  to  be. 

Chorus 
The  Chanty 
We  are  in  the  wise  gods'  hands  and  more  we  cannot  see. 

[370I 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Chorus 
So  away,  i-oh. 

A  Voice 
High  enough. 

The  Mate 
Lie  to.    [The  Seamen  lay  to  the  fall.]    Make  fast. 
Coil  up. 

A  Voice 
All  clear  to  seaward. 

The  Capt. 
Pipe  down.     [The  Bosun  pipes  the  belay.] 

Curtain 

Epilogue  spoken  by  Cotta 

Pompey  was  a  great  Captain,  riding  among  Kings,  a  King, 

Now  he  lies  dead  on  the  sand,  an  old   blind   tumbled   thing 

Fate  has  her  secret  way  to  humble  captains  thus 

Fate  comes  to  every  one  and  takes  the  light  from  us 

And  the  beginning  and  the  end  are  darkened  waters  where  no 

lights  be 
But  after  many  days  the  brook  finds  ocean 
And  the  ship  puts  to  sea. 


[37i] 


NOTES 
On  the  Appearance  of  Pompey 

Portraits  exist  of  Cneius  Pompeius  Magnus.  The  most  im- 
portant of  these  is  a  marble  bust  at  Copenhagen.  Several 
likenesses  are  to  be  found  on  the  gold  and  silver  coins  struck  by 
his  son,  Sextus,  in  Spain.  Plutarch  says  of  him  that,  "being 
come  to  man's  state,  there  appeared  in  his  gesture  and  behaviour 
a  grave  and  princely  majesty.  His  hair  also  stood  a  little  up- 
right, and  the  cast  and  soft  moving  of  his  eyes  had  a  certain 
resemblance  (as  they  said)  of  the  statues  and  images  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great."     This  resemblance  may  still  be  traced. 

At  the  time  of  his  murder  he  was  fifty-eight  years  old,  a 
powerful,  very  active  man,  in  the  prime  of  life.  His  bust,  evi- 
dently done  towards  the  end  of  his  life,  shows  that  his  hair, 
which  was  thick,  coarse,  and  worn  rather  long,  still  tended 
to  stand  a  little  upright.  The  head  is  of  great  breadth  at  the 
eyes.  The  brow  is  low  and  lined  with  three  deep  lines  of  wrinkles 
going  right  across  it  in  irregular  M  shape.  The  eyebrows  are 
well  marked :  the  supra-orbital  ridge  is  heavy.  The  nose  is  full 
and  strong,  with  the  broad  base  which  is  so  good  an  index  of 
intellectual  power.  The  septum  is  of  great  breadth.  The 
mouth  is  of  that  kindly  tightness  which  one  sees  in  the  portraits 
of  some  of  our  Admirals.  Below  the  mouth  is  a  deep  horizontal 
dent.  The  chin  is  not  cloven.  The  face  is  lined  a  good  deal. 
A  deep  straight  wrinkle  runs  from  each  side  of  the  nose  to  the 
puckered  angles  of  the  mouth.  The  eyes  are  crowsfooted. 
There  are  no  indications  as  to  the  colour  of  the  hair  and  eyes. 
The  shape  of  the  head  suggests  the  brown  or  fair  type  of  man. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  perhaps  grizzled. 

[372] 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

No  known  portrait  exists  of  any  of  the  other  characters. 
Metellus  came  of  a  family  once  distinguished  for  pointed  noses, 
Domitius  of  a  family  once  famed  for  red  hair.  Cornelia  was 
famous  for  a  grave  and  gentle  beauty.  She  was  young,  though 
already  a  widow,  when  Pompey  married  her,  a  few  months  be- 
fore the  civil  trouble  began. 

On  the  Fate  of  the  Persons  in  this  Tragedy 

Philip.  After  religiously  burning  his  master's  body  on  the 
seashore,  disappears  from  history. 

Metellus  Scipio.  Fled  from  Pharsalia  to  Africa,  where  he 
carried  on  the  war  until  46  b.  c,  when  he  was  defeated  by 
Caesar  at  Thapsus.  Flying  from  Africa  by  sea,  in  bad  weather, 
he  was  forced  to  put  into  the  port  of  Hippo,  where  one  of 
Caesar's  fleets  lay  at  anchor.  A  battle  followed.  He  is  said  to 
have  drowned  himself  shortly  before  his  ship  was  sunk. 

Cn.  Pompeius  Theophanes.  Returned  to  Italy,  and  was 
pardoned  by  Caesar.  He  attained  great  fame  as  a  writer.  After 
his  death  the  Lesbians  paid  him  divine  honours.  His  son  held 
office  under  Augustus. 

Marcus  Cato.  After  Pharsalia,  joined  Scipio  in  Africa,  and 
held  command  under  him.  He  killed  himself  in  Utica,  shortly 
after  the  battle  of  Thapsus,  so  that  he  might  not  live  to  see  the 
final  extinction  of  liberty.  His  son  was  killed  at  Philippi,  "val- 
iantly fighting  against  Augustus,"  four  years  later. 

Lucius  Domitius  Ahenobarbus.  Was  killed  (some  say  by 
Mark  Antony)  either  in  the  battle,  or  in  the  rout,  of  Pharsalia, 
at  which  he  commanded  the  great  brigade  of  horse,  on  the  left 
of  Pompey's  army. 

Marcus  Acilius  Glabrio.  Continued  in  Caesar's  service,  and 
rose  to  be  governor  of  Achaia. 

[  373  1 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Lucius  Lucceius.  Returned  to  Rome,  and  received  Caesar's 
pardon.  He  was  praised  by  Cicero  for  the  excellence  of  his 
historical  writings. 

Lucius  Afranius.  After  Pharsalia,  joined  Scipio  in  Africa, 
and  held  command  under  him,  till  the  battle  of  Thapsus.  While 
riding  through  Mauretania,  on  his  way  to  Spain,  after  that 
disaster,  he  was  ambushed  and  taken  by  Caesar's  lieutenant, 
P.  Sitius.  A  few  days  later,  the  troops  of  Sitius  killed  him  in  a 
camp  riot. 

Lentulus  Spinther.  After  Pharsalia,  fled  to  Rhodes,  where  he 
was  refused  permission  to  land.  He  set  sail  again  "much 
against  his  will,"  and  either  "perished  ingloriously"  or  dis- 
appeared from  history. 

Achillas  Egyptian.  Was  killed  by  Arsinoe  (Ptolemy's  sister) 
and  the  eunuch  Ganymed  in  the  year  after  Pompey's  murder. 

On  the  House  of  Pompey,  After  the  Murder 

Cornelia.  After  seeing  her  husband  killed,  fled  to  Cyrene, 
and  thence  to  Rome,  where,  in  time,  Pompey's  ashes  were 
brought  to  her.  She  is  said  to  have  buried  them  "in  a  town  of 
hers  by  the  city  of  Alba,"  in  Liguria. 

Cn.  Pompeius  Magnus,  the  Triumvir's  eldest  son,  by  his 
third  wife,  Mucia,  held  Corcyra  for  a  time,  showing  courage 
and  bold  strategic  ideas.  On  hearing  of  his  father's  death,  he 
went  to  Spain,  where  he  raised  a  great  army.  He  was  defeated 
at  the  bloody  battle  of  Munda,  in  the  year  45.  Soon  after  the 
battle,  he  was  betrayed,  taken  and  killed.  His  head  was  carried 
to  Seville  and  exposed  there  to  the  public  gaze. 

Sextus  Pompeius  Magnus.  The  younger  son  (also  by  Mucia) 
continued  the  war  in  Africa,  with  Cato's  party,  till  after  the 
battle  of  Thapsus.    He  then  joined  his  brother  in  Spain.    After 

[3741 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  POMPEY  THE  GREAT 

Caesar's  murder,  he  was  proscribed  by  Octavian,  and  took  the 
seas,  with  a  fleet,  burning,  sinking  and  intercepting  commerce, 
till  Octavian  came  to  terms.  On  the  recommencement  of  war 
between  them,  his  fleet  was  beaten  by  Octavian's  fleet  under 
Agrippa.  After  trying  vainly  to  beat  up  a  force  in  Asia,  he  was 
taken  and  put  to  death  at  Miletus  (probably  by  the  order  of 
Mark  Antony)  in  the  year  35.  He  left  a  daughter  whose  fate 
is  uncertain.    She  was  with  him  in  Asia  in  36. 

Pompeia.  The  daughter  (also  by  Mucia)  married  Faustus, 
the  son  of  Sulla,  who  was  killed  with  Afranius  in  the  mutiny  of 
the  troops  of  P.  Sitius,  in  Africa  in  46.  She  afterwards  married 
L.  Cornelius  Cinna.  It  is  not  known  when  she  died;  but  it  is 
certain  that  she  predeceased  her  brother,  Sextus.  She  had  a 
son  by  Cornelius  Cinna,  who  came  to  be  Consul  in  A.  D.  5.  What 
became  of  her  children  by  Faustus  is  not  known. 


[3751 


And  all  their  passionate  hearts  are  dust, 
And  dust  the  great  idea  that  burned 
In  various  flames  of  love  and  lust 
Till  the  world's  brain  was  turned. 

God,  moving  darkly  in  men's  brains, 
Using  their  passions  as  his  tool, 
Brings  freedom  with  a  tyrant's  chains 
And  wisdom  with  the  fool. 

Blindly  and  bloodily  we  drift, 
Our  interests  clog  our  hearts  with  dreams. 
God  make  my  brooding  soul  a  rift 
Through  which  a  meaning  gleams. 

Feb.  8,  1908.  July  5,  /pop. 


THE  FAITHFUL 
A  TRAGEDY  IN  THREE  ACTS 


To 

MY  WIFE 

THIS    BOOK   IS   AFFECTIONATELY   INSCRIBED 


Note:  This  play  is  written  to  be  played  uninterruptedly,  with 
out  more  break  in  the  action  than  is  necessary  to  get  the  actors  off 
the  stage  and  to  raise  the  screen  or  curtain  dividing  the  scenes. 

There  are  only  two  scenes:  one  the  front  part  of  the  stage, 
left  quite  bare,  without  decoration,  but  with  a  screen,  set,  or 
backcloth  at  the  back,  representing  a  Japanese  landscape,  with 
hills  and  water,  all  wintry  and  severe;  the  other,  the  back  of  the 
stage,  visible  when  this  screen  is  lifted,  a  room  in  a  Japanese 
palace,  very  beautiful,  but  bare,  save  for  a  few  flowers  and  a 
picture  or  two. 

A  few  minutes  may  elapse  between  Acts  I  and  II,  and  a 
slightly  longer  wait  between  Acts  II  and  III. 

PERSONS 

Asano,  A  Daimyo.  A  Poor  Girl. 

Kurano,  his  Counsellor.  Lady  Kurano. 

Hazama.  A  Captain  of  Kira's  guards. 

Shoda.  Chikara,  Kurano' s  son. 

Kira,  A  Daimyo.  First  Ronin. 

Sagisaka,  his  Counsellor.  Second  do. 

Kamei,  A  Daimyo.  Third     do. 

Honzo,  his  Counsellor.  Fourth  do. 

A  Youth  of  Kira's  palace.  Fifth      do. 

A  Woman  of  Kira's  palace.        A  Herald. 
The  Envoy.  Guards,    Nobles,    Attendants, 

Ronin. 
In  Act  I,  Scene  I,  throughout  Act  II,  and  in  Scenes  I,  II,  and 
IV  of  Act  III,  the  scene  is:  An  open  space  near  Asano's  palace. 
In  Act  I,  Scene  II  and  in  Act  III,  Scene  III,  the  scene  is:  A 
room  in  Kira's  palace. 

TIME:  Acts  I  and  II,  ioth  March,  1701. 
Act  III,  10th  March,  1702. 
[380] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ACT  I 

Scene  I. — The  outer  scene.     Asano  alone,  dawn.     A  shaft  of 
light  strikes  colour. 

Asano 
[Kneeling.]  Light  that  my  soul  has  followed,  bless  this  be- 
loved land,  where  I  work  with  my  men  to  make  life  nobler.  For 
now  my  work  here  is  threatened  by  an  evil  man,  who  draws 
nearer  daily,  violating  Right  and  Law.  [He  rises  and  stands 
listening.}    Kurano. 

KURANO 

[Off.]    Is  that  you,  Asano? 

[Kurano  enters] 

Asano 
Yes,  my  dear  friend,  I  have  waited  for  you;  I  need  not  ask 
your  news,  you  bring  no  good  news;  I  see  that  in  your  face. 

Kurano 
No;  no  good  news.    The  Judges  decided  against  us. 

Asano 
You  bring  yourself  at  least.    Does  your  wife  know? 

Kurano 
Yes.    I  have  sent  to  tell  her.    The  men  are  here,  if  you  will 
speak  with  them;  they  all  look  to  you  to  save  them. 

[381] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ASANO 

Let  them  come  in.    Do  they  guess  that  we  have  lost? 
[Kurano  lifts  a  hand  to  the  men] 

KURANO 

Yes.    They  are  all  afraid  of  Kira.    Come  in,  there. 

[The  men  come  in  and  crowd  about  the  lower  steps] 

Voices 
Asano!     Master  Asano!     Save  us  and  defend  us,  beloved 
master.    Lord  Kurano,  beseech  our  master  to  help  us! 

Kurano 
Still !    Let  the  head  man  come  forward.    Stand  there,  Hazama. 
Our  master  will  speak  to  you. 

[Asano  comes  forward] 

Voices 
Master  Asano!    Master  Asano!    Defend  us,  master! 

Asano 
Friends  and  fellow-workers,  it  is  now  twenty  years  since  I 
came  among  you  on  the  death  of  my  father.  You  know  how,  in 
that  time,  we  have  worked  together,  making  this  province  one 
of  the  most  fruitful,  and  quite  the  happiest,  in  the  Empire.  If  I 
have  failed  in  this  or  that,  I  know  that  I  have  won  your  friend- 
ship, and  that  you  have  been  happy  under  me.  Latterly,  as  you 
know,  our  happiness  has  been  marred  by  the  actions  of  an 
ambitious  man,  whom  we  now  know  as  Lord  Kira.  Some  of 
you  can  remember  when  that  lord  was  a  little  boy,  the  son  of  a 
steward,  in  the  house  of  old  Lord  Ashiza,  who  petted  him  for 

[382] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

his  cleverness.  As  you  know,  presently,  when  he  grew  up,  he 
ousted  the  old  lord  and  took  his  province.  Since  then,  all  of 
you  have  seen  his  treacheries  bringing  him  nearer  to  this  valley 
of  ours,  till  at  last  nothing  but  the  hills  kept  him  from  us.  Last 
week  Lord  Kira  claimed  the  hills  and  occupied  them  with  hired 
troops,  so  that  we  could  no  longer  pasture  there.  I  made  my 
protest  against  the  seizure.  Lord  Kurano  here  has  just  returned 
from  the  Courts  where  the  protest  has  been  heard.  He  will 
read  the  Judges'  finding. 

Voices 
Ah,  our  master  has  saved  us! 

Hazama 
Silence,  silence! 

Kurano 
The  Judges  have  decided  that  the  protest  lodged  by  Lord 
Asano  cannot  stand,  and  that  the  head  of  the  valley  claimed  by 
Lord  Kira  is,  truly,  Lord  Kira's  property,  together  with  its 
inhabitants  and  their  possessions.  And  to  this  they  set  their 
seals.     [A  moan  passes  over  the  crowd.} 

Hazama 
But  the  head  of  the  valley  is  free  land,  between  two  lordships. 
It  has  been  free  for  centuries.    It  cannot  be  Lord  Kira's. 

Kurano 
The  Judges  have  decided  that  it  is. 

First  Ronin 
And  all  that  mountain  pasture,  and  the  glen  where  our  river 
rises,  is  to  be  his? 

[383] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

Yes. 

Hazama 

So.    Now  he  is  at  our  throats. 

Asano 
It  is  bad  news;  but  not  hopeless.  We  have  failed  in  these 
Courts;  but  Lord  Kira  is  not  here  yet.  We  may  still  stop  him. 
We  must  turn,  now,  to  our  work.  Meanwhile  do  not  quarrel 
with  Kira's  men,  whatever  the  provocation,  and  above  all  trust 
me,  and  be  of  good  hope.  After  all,  a  way  may  be  found.  Dis- 
miss, and  to  work,  Hazama. 

Hazama 
We  thank  you,  master  Asano.    God  knows  we  trust  you. 

Voices 
Thank  you,  master. 

Hazama 
Dismiss  now  to  work,  as  the  master  bids.     [They  go  out.] 

Kurano 
What  hope  have  you,  then? 

Asano 
None. 

Kurano 
None? 

Asano 
Only  a  faith,  and  that  is  shaken,  that  the  triumph  of  the 
wicked  is  a  short  one. 

[384] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

It  was  a  wicked  judgment;  the  Judges  were  bribed. 

Asano 
It  seems  that  Kira  is  to  have  this  province.  We  shall  be  his 
next  prey.  And  I  have  been  thinking  through  the  night  how 
much  this  place  means  to  me.  I  see  that  all  this  will  have  to 
end.  Our  life  here  and  all  that  we  have  tried  to  do  is  at  Kira's 
mercy.  We  muster  some  seventy  men  and  boys;  Kira  since  his 
marriage  has  a  thousand.    What  can  we  do? 

Kurano 
Rebel  and  die. 

Asano 
Yes,  we  could  do  that.  But  I  want  what  we  have  sown  to 
live.  You  know  how  my  ancestors  first  came  here.  They 
were  driven  from  home  and  roved  till  they  reached  this  glen, 
where  they  could  live  at  peace.  I  shall  do  that,  Kurano.  I  shall 
give  up  and  go,  with  all  my  people. 


Where  to? 

To  the  outer  islands. 


Kurano 
Asano 


Kurano 
And  leave  this  a  prey  to  Kira? 


It  is  that  already. 
Without  a  protest? 


Asano 
Kurano 

[385] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Asano 
What  other  protest  can  I  make?    My  men  are  like  my  sons, 
they  shall  not  be  trampled  out  by  Kira.    I  will  carry  them  out 
of  his  reach. 

Kurano 
And  when  would  you  go? 

Asano 
Soon. 

Kurano 
It  will  break  your  heart  to  leave  this. 

Asano 
Never  mind,  if  I  save  my  men  from  Kira.     I  only  hesitate 
for  your  sake,  for  you  have  a  wife  and  son,  with  a  right  to  some- 
thing better  than  exile. 

Kurano 
There  is  a  kind  of  exile  which  is  a  grand  career  for  any  wife 
or  son.  .  .  .  But,  Asano,  I  say  that  you  must  not  abandon 
this  place,  but  meet  Kira  with  arms,  and  bring  it  to  civil  war 
here.  No  one  has  dared  that  yet,  so  Kira  has  prospered.  He 
is  not  a  robber;  he  is  nothing  so  noble;  he  is  a  knave.  If  you 
fight  him  he  will  draw  back  and  it  will  come  to  the  Commander's 
ears,  and  justice  will  be  done. 

Asano 
What  justice,  Kurano?     What  justice  should  I  get  in  any 
Court  in  this  land? 

Kurano 
The  justice  that  every  man  like  myself  does  you  with  his 
whole  heart. 

[386] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ASANO 

My  dear  Kurano,  what  Court  in  the  land  would  not  decide 
for  Kira,  the  ready  and  the  lucky,  rather  than  for  me,  the 
friend  of  man?  Kira  would  ask  nothing  better  than  for  me  to 
attack  him.  I  am  suspect,  an  innovator,  an  unorthodox. 
Every  knight  in  the  land  would  be  glad  to  see  me  ruined.  Be- 
sides .  .  .  the  worth  of  the  law  has  been  proved  already  in 
yesterday's  case.  My  instinct  tells  me  to  withdraw,  with  all 
who  stand  by  me. 

Kurano 

My  instinct  tells  you  to  stand  firm. 

Asano 
That  course  needs  your  power,  which  I  have  not  got. 

Kurano 
Here  it  is,  by  you. 

Asano 
We  must  live  by  our  own  laws,  Kurano.     No  angel  is  given 
two  messages.     I  shall  warn  my  people  to-night  that  we  shall 
abandon  these  old  homes  of  ours.     Leave  word  with  Hazama 
that  they  muster. 

Kurano 
It  will  be  a  terrible  night  to  your  friends. 

Asano 
I  expect  the  parting  to  have  every  circumstance  of  pain. 

Kurano 
You  spoke  a  moment  ago  as  though  you  were  hated  and  Kira 
loved.     Surely  you  must  know  that  Kira  has  made  enemies 
wherever  he  has  gone. 

[387] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ASANO 

He  has  made  slaves,   Kurano.     His  enemies  are  dead  or 
beggared. 

Kurano 

He  is  feared,  then.    All  who  fear  him  would  rally  to  the  first 
man  to  stand  against  him. 

Asano 
Some  things  are  given  to  me,  Kurano,  to  know  burningly. 
I  know  that  Kira  has  a  conquering  star,  and  none  can  stand 
against  him  yet.    His  cup  is  not  full.    We  will  go  into  the  wil- 
derness with  what  we  believe. 

Kurano 
You  are  making  a  mistake,  Asano. 

Asano 
I  see  this  too  clearly  for  that. 

Kurano 
You  are  despairing. 

Asano 
I  neither  despair  nor  fear:  I  see. 

Kurano 
You  take  the  men's  view.    They  think  that  Kira  is  a  power. 
They  will  find  out  their  mistake  too  late. 

Asano 
They  will  have  their  freedom  at  least. 

[388] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

Perhaps.    I  will  tell  Hazama  to  muster  them  after  work  to- 
night.   They  seem  merry  yonder.    Listen!  there!    There  agian. 

[A  sound  of  clapping  and  cheering  draws  slowly  nearer] 

ASANO 

There  is  little  cause  for  rejoicing  in  this  place. 

Kurano 
What  can  they  be  cheering  for? 

Voices 
Victory.    Asano.    Victory.    Saved.    Victory. 

Asano 
Can  they  have  been  fighting  Kira's  men? 

Kurano 
I  hope  so.    Hark! 

[The  Men  appear] 

Voices 
Victory.     Master  Asano,  they  are  ruined.     Kira  is  ruined. 

[The  Men  crowd  up] 

Asano 
How  is  Kira  ruined  ? 

Kurano 
Keep  back.     Keep  back.     Let  Hazama  come  forward.    Let 
the  head  man  speak;  silence,  the  others. 

[389] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ASANO 

What  news  have  you,  Hazama? 

Hazama 
Master  Asano,  we  left  you,  even  now,  feeling  that  Lord  Kira 
was  at  our  throats;  we  had  little  hope  but  to  be  slaves,  and 
worse  than  that  for  some  of  us.     We  went  away  in  despair, 
Master  Asano,  and  now  a  blessing  has  come  upon  us. 

Asano 
Can  the  decree  be  annulled,  Kurano? 

Kurano 
No.     What  blessing,  Hazama?     How  has  a  blessing  come? 

Hazama 

We  had  gone  but  a  little  way,  to  the  cross-roads  by  the 
bridge,  when  there  came  the  noise  of  a  horse  and  a  man  gal- 
loped up,  a  tall  man,  in  a  broidered  cloak,  riding  a  stallion 
which  was  all  great  flecks  of  foam.  And  when  he  pulled  up, 
the  wind  blew  the  cloak  back  and  we  saw  all  gold,  and  never 
once  for  thirty  years  has  the  like  been  seen  here.  He  was  a 
trumpeter. 

Kurano 

Is  this  one  of  their  visions  ? 

Asano 
I  do  not  understand.    What  trumpeter? 

Hazama 
A  trumpeter  from  the  Presence.     He  blew  a  great  blast  on 
a  trumpet,  and  cried  out  that  we  were  to  prepare. 

[390] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Then  he  said  if  any  of  us  had  a  complaint  to  make,  or  a  peti- 
tion to  give,  or  suffered  from  any  wrong,  or  were  in  fear  or 
misery,  we  were  to  take  heart. 

Kurano 
Yes? 

Hazama 
Because  the  very  Presence  has  sent  an  Envoy  here  to  right 
all  troubles,  master,  and  now  Lord  Kira  will  be  driven  back 
and  we  be  at  peace  again. 

Voices 
It  is  blessed  news,  master. 

Asano 
Thank  you,  Hazama.     Since  the  Envoy  has  come  from  the 
Presence,  a  thing  unknown  in  our  time,  we  may  be  sure  that 
injustice  will  be  redressed.    Where  is  the  Envoy? 

Hazama 
He  is  in  the  province  already,  master,  and  his  Court  is  to 
be  held  to-day. 

Asano 
Thank  you.     Let  this  news  reassure  you.     Return  now  to 
your  work,  and  be  thankful  to  that  August  One  who  watches 
even  over  us,  in  this  far  corner. 

Hazama 
We  are  very  mindful  of  Him,  Master  Asano. 

Voices 
We  give  thanks  to  Him  for  this  doing  of  justice. 

[They  go  out.] 
[391] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ASANO 

This  alters  everything.     I  shall  go  at  once  to  the  Envoy's 
Court  and  appeal  against  Kira. 

Kurano 
I  will  come  with  you.      Perhaps  the  Court  has  heard  of  Kira 
and  decided  to  check  him. 

Asano 
You  are  too  hopeful,  Kurano.    I  only  hope  for  a  little  crumb 
of  justice  in  this  question  of  the  hills. 

Kurano 
Will  you  speak  to  the  men  to-night,  notwithstanding? 

Asano 
I  will  wait  till  I  know  what  the  day  brings  forth. 

[Enter  Shoda] 

Shoda 
Have  I  the  honour  of  speaking  to  Lord  Asano? 

Asano 
I  am  Asano. 

Shoda 
I  come  from  the  Envoy  now  visiting  this  province  to  tell 
you  that  you  are  to  be  specially  honoured  by  him. 

Asano 
The  Envoy's  wishes  are  a  law  to  me,  and  his  honour  more 
than  I  deserve. 

[392I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Shoda 
You  have  been  appointed  to  be  the  Envoy's  host  when  he 
holds  his  Court  to-day. 

Asano 
That  is  an  honour  indeed,  and  a  very  grateful  pleasure. 

Shoda 
I  am  happy  that  my  message  pleases  you.    The  Lord  Kamei 
who  is,  I  believe,  your  friend,  will  act  with  you  and  share  your 
task. 

Asano 
That  will  add  to  my  pleasure.    I  have  long  known  Kamei. 

Shoda 
The  Envoy  wishes  me  to  say  that  he  looks  forward  with 
much  happiness  to  so  pleasant  a  means  of  meeting  you,  of 
whom  he  has  so  often  heard  praise. 

Asano 
I  hope  that  my  welcome  will  not  be  unworthy  of  so  generous 
a  lord.    Before  you  go,  will  you  not  rest  in  my  house  a  little? 

Shoda 
I   cannot,  thank  you.     The  ceremony  will  begin  so  soon. 
I  must  return. 

Kurano 
Is  not  the  ritual  of  receiving  the  Envoy  a  difficult  one? 

Asano 
I  know  nothing  of  the  ritual. 

[393] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Shoda 
That  difficulty  has  been  foreseen  and  arranged  for.     Your 
friend  Lord  Kira,  will  instruct  you  in  the  ritual. 

Asano 
Lord  Kira? 

Shoda 
Lord  Kira,  yes.    He  will  receive  you  at  any  hour,  the  earlier 
the  better,  since  the  ceremony  will  be  held  at  noon.    He  is  ex- 
pecting you  now. 

Asano 
Where  is  he  waiting  for  us  ? 

Shoda 
At  his  palace.     The  Envoy's  reception  will  take  place  in 
Lord  Kira's  palace. 

Asano 
We  will  wait  upon  Lord  Kira. 

Shoda 
I  shall  look  forward  to  meeting  you  there  after  the  ceremony. 
Good-bye  till  then. 

Kurano 
Good-bye.    [Shoda  goes.] 

Asano 
So  Kira  is  to  teach  us  the  ritual,  and  I  am  to  receive  the 
Envoy  in  Kira's  palace.    The  issue  is  joined  indeed. 

Kurano 
It  could  not  fall  out  better.    You  will  front  Kira  and  accuse 
him  in  his  own  house,  before  all  the  nobles  of  the  province. 

[394] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Asano 
I  am  troubled  though.    I  am  to  be  his  pupil. 

Kurano 
I  shall  be  with  you.    Come.    The  chess-board  is  set. 

Asano 
Still,  I  an  troubled.      I  feel  that  Kira  has  contrived  this, 
for  reasons  that  I  cannot  see.     I  wish  that  this  had  not  hap- 
pened. 

Kurano 
You  will  only  meet  Kira  officially,  for  a  prescribed   cere- 
mony.    You  will  not  even  be  the  only  pupil,  for  Lord  Kamei 
will  be  learning  with  you. 

Asano 
I  have  misgivings. 

Kurano 
All  great  things  come  from  misgivings. 

Asano 
Come  then.     It  is  time.      Even  at  our  wisest  Fate  uses  us; 
and  I  shall  be  with  you. 

[A  messenger  runs  in.] 

Third  Ronin 
Lord  Kurano.    Lord  Kurano.    Your  lady. 

Kurano 
What?    What  is  it? 

[39Sl 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Third  Ronin 
Your  lady  has  fallen,  Lord  Kurano,  on  the  palace  steps. 

Asano 
Is  she  killed? 

Third  Ronin 
Please  God,  no,  my  lord.     But  she  calls  for  you  and  they 
think  her  dying. 

Asano 
You  must  go.    I  will  go  on  alone  to  Kira. 

Kurano 
If  I  can  come,  I  will  follow  you. 

Asano 
I  trust  you  will  find  all  well.    Go  now. 

Kurano 
Take  me  to  where  she  is.     [Turning.]     Asano,  promise  me 
one  thing. 

Asano 
What? 

Kurano 
That  you  will  be  on  your  guard  with  Kira;  that  you  will 
not  let  yourself  be  led  away  by  him. 

Asano 
I  am  playing  for  all  these  souls,  Kurano.     But  who  can 
promise  for  himself? 

Kurano 
You  can  and  must.    Do  you  understand?    He  may  provoke 

[396] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

you.    Whatever  the  provocation,  be  calm.    May  the  gods  guard 
you,  Asano. 

Asano 
They  guard  us.    You,  too. 

Kurano 
Please   Heaven.     I  have  misgivings  now.     I  wish  I  were 
coming  with  you. 

Asano 
We  are  being  played  by  the  gods.    Go,  now,  quickly. 

Kurano 
Yes.    Pray  the  gods  I  may  follow  quickly. 

Asano 
Now  hurry.    I  shall  be  late.    [They  part  and  go  off  right  and 
left.    Asano  turns.]    Kurano.    Good-bye,  Kurano. 

[He  watches  Kurano  go] 
Curtain 

Scene  II. — The  inner  scene 

KlRA 

God  of  my  fortunes,  who  hast  brought  me  from  being  the 
steward's  son  to  be  Lord  Kira.  Now  that  the  last  enemy, 
Asano,  is  within  the  net,  grant  me  thy  intellectual  power,  that 
I  may  strike  him  to  the  ground.  [Comes  forward.]  Then  with 
jewels  and  dominations  I  shall  go  on.  My  power  will  stretch 
to  the  sea.    There  is  no  drunkenness  like  power.    Sagisaka. 

[Sagisaka  enters] 
[  397 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
My  lord. 

Kira 

Now  the  sun  rises,  friend. 

Sagisaka 
Yes,  my  lord. 

Kira 

You  see  you  were  wrong.     That  stroke  on  the  valley-head 
prospered. 

Sagisaka 
They  will  appeal,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Yes,  but  meanwhile  they  have  to  learn  the  ritual.     Have 
they  come  yet? 

Sagisaka 

Asano  and  Kamei  have  come.    They  are  outside. 

Kira 
Tell  me  more  of  Kamei. 

Sagisaka 
An  honest,  blunt  man,  wealthy,  too;  he  has  a  pearl  fishery. 

Kira 
He  is  not  a  friend  of  Asano's? 

Sagisaka 
They  are  said  to  be  friendly. 

Kira 
Nothing  in  the  nature  of  allies  ? 

[398] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 

No. 

KlRA 

Let  us  see  these  pupils.    [Sagisaka  opens  the  door.] 
[Enter  Kamei,  Honzo,  and  Asano] 

KlRA 

Who  are  you  ?    Are  you  Lord  Kamei  ? 


Yes. 

Who  is  with  you  ? 
My  attendant,  Honzo. 


Kamei 

Kira 

Kamei 


Kira 
And  this  is  Lord  Asano.    Is  anyone  with  you? 


Asano 


No,  Lord  Kira. 


Kira 
You  have  come  to  me  to  learn  the  ritual  for  the  reception 
of  the  Emperor's  Envoy.  I  have  to  tell  you  that  the  Envoy 
is  even  now  within  this  palace,  and  that  this  is  therefore  a 
sacred  place.  I  need  not  remind  you  that  a  place  so  hallowed 
exacts  a  reverence.  My  duty  prescribes  that  I  declare  this 
room  hallowed.  Whoever  breaks  its  peace,  by  violent  act  or 
oath,  by  blow  or  by  the  drawing  of  a  weapon,  is  liable  to  the 
punishment  of  death,  with  confiscation  of  goods;  so  the  Em- 
peror's edict  prescribes.    You  understand? 

[399] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Kamei 
Yes. 

KlRA 

You,  Lord  Asano;  do  you  understand? 

Asano 
Perfectly. 

Kira 
You  have  a  look  as  though  you  did  not  understand  so  per- 
fectly.   Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 
My  Lord? 

Kira 
Are  not  these  pupils  very  late? 

Sagisaka 
They  appeared  to  think  not,  at  the  door,  my  lord,  but  they 
are  late,  some  twenty  minutes. 

Kira 
It  is  very  annoying,  that  there  should  be  so  little  care  to  be 
punctual.     Give  word  for  my  cordial  to  be  brought.    [Sagi- 
saka goes  to  the  door.]    Why  do  you  stand,  sir,  so  near  to  the 
pupils? 

Honzo 
I  am  in  attendance  upon  Lord  Kamei. 

Kira 
Your  place  is  near  the  door,  till  you  are  wanted. 

Honzo 
I  am  sorry,  my  lord,  I  did  not  know.    [The  cordial  enters.] 

[400] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KlRA 

And  why  do  you  come  unattended? 

Asano 
Lord  Kurano,  who  was  coming  with  me,  was  detained. 

Kira 
What  detained  him? 

Asano 

An  accident  to  his  wife. 

Kira 
Give  me  the  cordial  there.    [Drinks.]    Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 
My  lord  ? 

Kira 
Has  any  apology  been   received   from  this  gentleman,   for 
coming  alone? 

Sagisaka 
No,  my  lord. 

Asano 
If  an  apology  is  necessary,  let  me  state  my  regret  now. 
Nothing  but  this  sudden  accident  would  have  kept  Lord  Ku- 
rano from  being  present.    I  still  hope  he  may  be  here. 

Kira 
Yes.    But  how  am  I  to  know  that  this  accident  is  not  merely 
an  excuse  to  be  away? 

Asano 
I  have  the  honour  to  tell  you. 

[401] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KlRA 
Can  you  vouch  for  the  accident  or  have  you  only  heard  of  it? 

Asano 
I  heard  of  it,  from  a  man  on  whose  truth  I  can  depend. 

Kira 
"Truth"  and  "depend."     And  I  have  to  depend  on  your 
dependence  in  condonation  of  your  fault,  which  is  tantamount 
to  an  impiety.    Why  did  you  bring  no  other  friend,  when  you 
knew  that  Lord  Kurano  could  not  come? 

Asano 
As  I  said,  Lord  Kira,  I  still  hope  that  Lord  Kurano  may 
come  here  in  time. 

Kira 
You  were  not  here  in  time  yourself.     You  have  been  guilty 
of  great  disrespect,  both  in  coming  late  and  in  coming  alone. 
Remove  these  cups.    Ah,  Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 
My  lord? 

Kira 
What  is  the  other  person's  name? 

Sagisaka 
Kamei,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Kamei.    What  made  you  late? 

Kamei 
I  was  not  late,  Lord  Kira. 

[402] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KlRA 

You  will  not  improve  your  case  by  denial.  You  have  heard 
this  gentleman  say  that  you  are  late. 

Kamei 
He  is  not  a  gentleman. 

Sagisaka 

They  came  on  foot  to  the  gate.  The  porter  took  them  for 
beggars. 

Kira 

I  have  heard,  and  the  Envoy  has  heard,  of  new  opinions  in 
this  province,  of  a  want  of  respect  for  sacred  things,  of  con- 
tempt for  order,  and  distaste  for  duty.  I  grieve  to  find  evi- 
dence of  all  these  things  in  your  behaviour  to-day.  You  come 
late,  you  come  improperly,  unattended,  dusty,  and  inclined  to 
rudeness.    The  Envoy  will  be  pained  to  hear  my  report  of  you. 

Kamei 
Lord  Kira,  we  have  come  to  learn  the  ritual  from  you.     If, 
as  you  say,  we  are  late,  it  might  be  well  if  you  would  confine 
yourself  to  that. 

Kira 
You  will  remember  this  person's  remarks. 

Sagisaka 
Yes,  my  lord. 

Kira 
I  will  read  those  letters  if  you  will  bring  them  to  me.  [Reads.] 
You  may  take  this  one,  Sagisaka.  [Gives  letter.]  This  needs 
no  answer.  Asano,  I  have  a  letter  here  from  my  steward.  He 
complains  that  in  spite  of  the  Judges'  verdict  yesterday  your 
men  still  persist  in  occupying  my  pasture. 

[403] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

ASANO 

Lord  Kira,  your  steward  is  mistaken. 

Kira 
That  is  not  possible.    Here  is  his  letter. 

Asano 
Do  you  depend  upon  his  truth  ? 

Kira 
I  do. 

Asano 
And  I  am  to  depend  on  your  dependence  in  an  accusation 
of  the  kind  ?    Well,  Lord  Kira,  all  my  men,  without  exception, 
have  been  in  attendance  at  my  house  through  the  night. 

Kira 
You  will  have  to  prove  that. 

Asano 
As  you  please. 

Kamei 

Lord  Kira,  I  have  no  concern  with  your  private  quarrels 
with  Lord  Asano;  it  is  very  painful  to  have  to  listen  to  them. 
I  take  it  as  a  gross  breach  of  privilege  that  you  refer  to  them 
at  all  in  your  present  position.  I  must  ask  you  to  perform  the 
duty,  for  which  I  am  in  attendance;  otherwise  I  must  with- 
draw, to  claim  the  respect  not  yet  offered  to  me. 

Kira 
As  my  pupil,  you  have  neither  the  right  to  make  remarks 
nor  the  power  to  withdraw.     Within  this  Court  you  attend 

[404] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

my  instruction,  at  my  pleasure,  and  obey  my  will  at  my  bidding; 
that  is  your  province  as  pupil;  I,  as  teacher,  will  attend  to 
mine.  If  your  gross  ignorance  and  crass  conceit  mislead  you, 
let  me  set  you  right;  for  I,  here,  Lord  Kamei,  represent  a 
sacred  Envoy,  and  will  brook  no  babbling  from  a  gray-haired 
country  clown. 

Honzo 
For  God's  sake,  stop  him! 

Asano 
Be  quiet,  Kamei;  be  quiet. 

Kamei 
This  man  sat  with  my  lackeys. 

Asano 
I  know,  I  know,  but  you  are  in  his  power  if  you  stir. 

Kamei 
The  dog!    The  dog!    I  have  seen  him  eat  broken  meats  after 
the  feast.    I  will  not  be  quiet. 

Kamei 
You  shall,  Kamei,  you  shall  not  ruin  yourself. 

Kira 
Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 
My  lord? 

Kira 
Request  these  people  to  be  silent. 

[405I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
Be  silent,  you,  and  you. 

Kamei 
What  do  you  bid  me? 

Kira 

[Rapping  with  his  fan].     Be  silent,  please.     Prepare  your- 
selves to  learn  the  ritual. 

Lord  Kamei,  you  are  the  elder  of  my  two  pupils  ? 

Kamei 
Yes. 

Kira 
Come  forward,  please.    [Kamei  advances.] 
It  is  with  your  goodwill  that  you  come  to  learn  this  cere- 
mony ? 

Kamei 

What  do  you  mean  by  that  question  ?    I  am  here. 

Kira 
Do  you  come  with  your  goodwill  ? 

Asano 
Answer,  man,  answer. 

Honzo 
Say,  yes,  master,  or  it  will  be  ruin,  ruin. 

Kira 
Will  you  two,  to  whom  I  am  not  speaking,  keep  farther  back  ? 
Must  I  repeat  my  question,  Lord  Kamei?    There  is  a  prescribed 
form  which  I  have  to  follow.    I  ask  you,  do  you  come  here  of 
your  own  will,  freely  ? 

[406] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Say  yes. 
Yes,  I  do. 

ASANO 

Kamei 
Kira 

Come  nearer  to  me, 

Kamei. 

Kamei 

I  am  here,  Lord  Kira 

i. 

Kira 
Kneel  down,  kindly.     [Kamei  kneels.]     Fasten  my  shoe  for 
me. 

Kamei 

Perhaps  I  do  not  understand  you,  quite. 

Kira 
The  clasp  of  my  shoe  is  loose,  I  ask  you  to  clasp  it 

Kamei 
Ask  me  ? 

Kira 

I  tell  you.    Fasten  it. 

Kamei 
You  tell  me  to  fasten  your  shoe? 

Kira 

Yes. 

Kamei 

Then [The  door  at  the  back  opens  with  a  clang.] 

[407] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
[Shoda  appears] 

Shoda 
Pardon  my  intrusion  upon  this  office.    I  had  the  misfortune 
to  interrupt  you,  Lord   Kamei.     The  Envoy  requests  me  to 
desire  your  immediate  presence,  Lord  Kira,  if  you  will  be  so 
good  as  to  go  to  him. 

Kira 
Thank  you.    I  break  up  this  Court.    Come,  Sagisaka. 
[Kira  and  Shoda  go  out] 

Sagisaka 
Stay,  you,  till  my  lord  returns.    [Exit.] 

Honzo 
Intolerable.    It  was  intolerable. 

Kamei 
That  is  the  end,  however. 

Asano 
Kamei,  you  have  been  wonderful. 

Kamei 
He  went  too  far,  Honzo. 

Honzo 
My  lord,  I  thank  God  you  kept  the  peace. 

Kamei 
I  shall  keep  it  no  longer.    Give  me  that  dirk  you  wear. 

[408] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Honzo 
What  are  you  going  to  do,  my  lord  ? 

Asano 
Do  not  give  it,  Honzo.     Kamei,  you  have  been  right,  up  to 
this  very  last.     We  have  only  to  keep  calm  through  this;  we 
can  appeal  to  the  Envoy. 

Kamei 
What  has  the  Envoy  to  do  with  this,  Asano?    This  concerns 
my  personal  honour.     The  upstart  told  me  to  clasp  his  shoe- 
buckle.    Give  me  your  dirk,  Honzo.    [Snatches  the  dirk.] 

Honzo 
My  lord,  my  lord. 

Asano 
No,  no,  Kamei,  no;  you  cannot  claim  a  precedence.     This 
concerns  us  three. 

Kamei 
You  were  not  told  to  handle  his  shoes.  You  are  not  an  old 
man  who  has  seen  this  dog  fawning  at  his  lackey's  pantry  for 
scraps  and  gobbets.  You  are  a  young  man,  with  work,  and 
you  are  an  old  man  with  sons.  I  am  only  an  old  man  with  a 
memory  of  what  was,  and  I  am  going  to  kill  that  man. 

Asano 
Kamei,  Kamei,  can  you  not  see  that  a  riot  is  what  Kira 
wants?  We  two  are  his  last  rivals  here.  He  has  contrived 
all  this  to  trap  us;  it  is  death  if  we  lift  a  finger.  If  we  endure 
this  till  the  Envoy  comes,  we  can  appeal,  and  Kira  will  be 
degraded.    Give  me  that  dirk,  for  all  our  sakes. 

[409 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Kamei 
Not  I,  Asano. 

Honzo 
Lord  Kamei. 

Kamei 

[Putting  them  aside.]    My  mind  is  made  up. 

Honzo 

Master  Kamei,  I  have  served  you  many  years  now.  I  carried 
you  when  you  were  little,  when  I  was  a  lad,  pikeman  to  the 
Emperor.  I  promised  the  old  knight,  your  father,  that  I  would 
mind  you,  and  I  have,  master,  many's  the  time,  and  your  sweet 
lady,  my  mistress,  and  the  young  knights,  your  sons.  This 
lord  is  right,  Master  Kamei,  it  is  a  trap  to  bring  you  to  death. 
I  saw  it  in  his  look  directly  he  began.  I  saw  him  smile  when 
he  touched  you.  Lord  Kamei,  it  is  not  only  your  death  that 
would  follow  if  you  struck  him,  but  the  beggary  of  your  lady 
and  her  babes;  and  this  lord  is  right,  that  you  should  bear  till 
the  Presence  comes. 

Kamei 

I  will  not  bear. 

Honzo 

Then  it  is  for  me  to  save  you,  Lord  Kamei;  I  will  kill  Lord 
Kira. 

Kamei 

Please  keep  from  me.  If  death  is  the  penalty,  I  am  ready 
for  death. 

Lord  Asano,  Honzo;  I  am  grieved  if  I  have  spoken  rudely 
to  you.  I  count  upon  you  not  to  interfere.  Take  these  trap- 
pings, Honzo,  and  the  purse.  [Gives  things.]  Honzo,  please 
go  to  the  door,  and  tell  me  if  Lord  Kira  is  coming  back. 

[410] 


THE  FAITHFUL 


Honzo 
[At  door].    He  is  in  the  corridor,  talking  to  a  woman. 


Kamei 
Honzo 
Kamei 
Honzo 
Kamei 
Honzo 
Kamei 
Honzo 
Kamei 


Is  his  guard  there? 

No.    Ah! 

Is  he  coming? 

Yes. 

Alone? 

No,  the  girl  too. 

On  which  side? 

The  right. 

I'll  stand  here,  then. 

Honzo 
[Speaking  through.]    God  deliver  us.    God  deliver  us. 

Kamei 
Stand  away,  Honzo.    Keep  behind  me. 

Honzo 
This  is  the  end  of  it  all;  the  end  of  everything. 


Be  quiet.    Come,  Kira. 


Kamei 


[411] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
Honzo 

Kamei 

Honzo 

Kamei 

Asano 


He's  at  the  door. 

Hush!    Listen! 

Hark! 

Quiet,  Honzo. 

What  is  it? 

Kamei 
He  has  gone  past,  I  think. 

Honzo 
Please  God. 

Kamei 
Look,  Honzo,  softly. 

Honzo 
[At  door.]    He  is  there. 

Kamei 
Where? 

Honzo 
[Pointing.]    There. 

Kamei 
Just  outside? 

Honzo 
His  hand  upon  the  latch. 

Kamei 
Then  make  your  peace,  Kira. 

[412I 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KlRA 

[As  he  half  opens  the  door.]    That  must  wait  till  to-night. 

A  Woman's  Voice 
Yes,  but  there  is  another  thing. 

Kira 
What  can  that  be? 

Voice 
No,  that  shall  wait  till  to-night,  too. 

Kira 
No,  you  must  tell  me.    [Closes  door  again.    The  Voice  laughs.] 

Kira 
[Off.]    You  will  not  escape  like  that. 

Kamei 
Kiss  your  farewell  to  her. 

Honzo 
They  are  moving  down  the  corridor. 

Asano 
She  is  singing. 

Kamei 
Look,  Honzo.    Look. 

Honzo 
They  are  there.    She  is  gone  now.    He  is  coming. 

Ui3] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Kamei 
Quickly,  then,  behind  me;  farther  back. 

Asano 

Now. 

Honzo 
Here. 

[Shoda  enters  behind  them  quietly  and  goes  to  Kamei] 

Kamei 
[Thinking  that  he  is  Honzo].     Keep  away,  Honzo.     Keep 
from  me.     I  warn  you.     [Turning.]     Who  is  this?     Who  are 
you?    Ah,  Lord  Shoda. 

Shoda 
Lord  Kamei,  may  I  have  the  pleasure  of  waiting  on  you  to 
your  robing-room  ? 

Kamei 
Ah,  have  I  to  robe? 

Shoda 
If  you  will  forgive  the  trouble.    You,  too,  Lord  Asano. 

Asano 
We  have  not  yet  been  taught  the  ritual. 

Shoda 
That  will  be  taught  when  you  are  robed.     Will  you  come, 
then?     These  ceremonies  are  tedious;  but  the  Envoy  keenly 
looks  forward  to  meeting  you.     This  will  be  the  way.     Per- 
haps this  gentleman  will  wait  [indicating  Honzo]. 

[He  takes  out  Asano  and  Kamei] 
[414] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Honzo 
[Kneeling.]    You  gods  who  have  granted  me  this  moment's 
truce,  help  me  to  save  my  master. 

[Enter  Sagisaka.    The  two  eye  each  other] 

Sagisaka 
Well,  fellow? 

Honzo 
Look. 

Sagisaka 
What? 

Honzo 
This.    It  is  my  master's  purse. 

Sagisaka 
I  suppose  money  is  a  rare  sight  where  you  come  from  ? 

Honzo 
[Jingling  money.]     Could  you  get  me  a  moment's  private  talk 
with  Lord  Kira,  here,  now,  this  very  instant? 

Sagisaka 
For  you  ?    What  if  I  could  ? 

Honzo 
[Jingling.]    This  ...  to  begin  with. 

Sagisaka 
Let  me  see  it. 

Honzo 
When  Lord  Kira  is  here. 

Ui5 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
I  want  more  than  that. 

Honzo 
You  shall  have  more,  if  you  will  bring  him  at  once. 

Sagisaka 
What  do  you  want  Lord  Kira  for? 

Honzo 
I  will  tell  him  when  he  comes.      Only  bring  him. 

Sagisaka 
I  must  have  something  to  tell  him. 

Honzo 
Say  I  must  speak  to  him. 

Sagisaka 
Must?    Must  speak?    Well  .  .  .    [Going.]    But  if  you  want 
him  like  this;  no  [stops].     I  have  myself  to  consider.     I  can- 
not fetch  him  till  you  have  made  it  worth  my  while. 

[Enter  Kira] 

Kira 
Fetch  whom  ? 

Honzo 
Lord  Kira,  will  you  grant  me  the  favour  of  a  moment's  talk  ? 

Kira 
A  moment's  talk? 

[416  J 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
He  has  been  troubling  me,  my  lord,  with  a  great  deal  of  non- 
sense about  talking  to  you.    He  is  foolish. 

Honzo 
It  is  for  Lord  Kamei,  Lord  Kira. 

Kira 
For  Lord  Kamei  ?    Lord  Kamei  can  speak  for  himself. 

Honzo 
I  am  his  treasurer,  Lord  Kira. 

Kira 
Yes?    What  then? 

Honzo 
Might  we  be  alone,  Lord  Kira,  for  a  moment  only  ? 

Kira 
Go,  Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 
[Passing  Kira.]    Have  a  care,  my  lord;  he  may  be  planning 
you  a  mischief  for  what  you  said  to  his  master. 

Kira 
What?    You  think  that? 

Sagisaka 
There  is  a  strange  look  in  his  eyes. 

[417] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KlRA 

There  is.    You,  man;  put  down  that  cloak  you  are  carrying. 
What  weapons  have  you  in  your  sleeves? 


Honzo 
Kira 


None,  my  lord. 

Feel  him,  Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 

There  is  nothing,  my  lord.    What  have  you  done  with  your 
dirk? 

Honzo 
I  lost  it. 

Sagisaka 
Yes,  where  you  lost  your  wits,  I  think. 

Kira 
Leave   us  then,   Sagisaka.     [Exit  Sagisaka,   back.]     Well, 
treasurer. 

Honzo 
Lord  Kira,  where  we  live  we  are  not  used  to  Court  ceremony, 
so  we  sometimes  offend.  My  master  has  asked  me  to  say  this, 
lest  you  should  be  annoyed  at  our  country  way.  He,  I  mean 
we,  have  put  you  to  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  this  matter  of 
the  ritual.  If  we  might  make  some  return,  without  offence, 
as  a  sign  of  how  much  we  feel  it;  if  you  would  not  misunder- 
stand. 

Kira 
I  shall  not  misunderstand  a  kind  thought. 

Honzo 
We  have  heard  that  you  collect  jewels,  Lord  Kira. 

[418I 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KlRA 


I  have  a  few  jewels. 


Honzo 
We  in  the  country  are  sometimes  able  to  help  in  the  matter 
of  jewels,  what  with  the  mines  and  the  pearl-fishery.     Lord 
Kamei  thought  that  perhaps  you  might  like  to  see  these  pearls. 

Kira 
These  are  black  pearls. 

Honzo 

Yes,  your  lordship  might  call  them  black.  We  .  .  .  we  .  .  . 
we  did  not  like  to  set  them  ...  as  your  lordship's  taste  is  so 
well  known.  ...  If  you  would  accept  them  from  Lord  Kamei, 
it  would  be  a  pleasure  ...  as  a  return  for  your  kindness, 
Lord  Kira. 

Kira 

This  is  very  handsome  of  Kamei.  I  shall  be  very  pleased 
to  have  them.  They  are  very  fine.  There  are  few  things  so 
rare.    I  shall  set  them  .  .  .  how  shall  I  set  them? 

Honzo 
If  your  lordship  cares  for  these  things,  Lord  Kamei  will  be 
pleased  to  show  you  his  collection. 

Kira 
That  is  a  pleasure  we  must  arrange.  Your  name  is  Honzo, 
I  think.  I  thank  you,  Honzo.  But  I  think  your  master  must 
be  robed  and  we  must  proceed.  Will  you  withdraw  through 
that  door,  Honzo,  while  we  go  on?  I  thank  you.  I  shall  thank 
your  master. 

[419] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
[Honzo  goes  actors''  left.    Kamei  enters  actors*  right] 

Kamet 
Now,  Kira. 

Kira 
No,  Lord  Kamei,  let  me  be  beforehand  with  you.     See.     I 
fling  down  my  sword.    I  kneel  to  you.    Listen.    I  ask  your 
pardon  for  my  rudeness. 

Kamei 
You  ask  my  pardon? 

.  Kira 
Yes,  for  my  gross  insolence;  I   ask  it  kneeling.  .  .  .     My 
dear  lord,  let  me  congratulate  you.     You  stood  the  test  su- 
perbly. 

Kamei 
You  explain  yourself. 

Kira 
You  do  not  know  these  rituals. 

Kamei 
No.    Nor  wish  to  know  more. 

Kira 
You  will  perhaps  understand,  when  I  tell  you  that  the  early 
part  of  the  teaching  is  designed  to  test  the  pupil's  loyalty,  his 
reverence  for  an  Envoy's  person,  which  it  is  important  to  know. 
You  were  wonderful.  There  can  be  few  more  loyal  subjects 
than  you.  The  Envoy,  who  was  listening,  was  most  pleased 
with  you.    And  now  you  must  forgive  me,  and  allow  me  to  say 

[420] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

how  pained  I  was  to  insult  you  in  that  way.  Come,  you  must 
shake  hands,  and  to-night  you  must  honour  me,  you  must  be 
my  guest. 

Kamei 
Well.    Say  no  more.    There  is  my  hand.    You  certainly  put 
me  to  a  test. 

Kira 
Yes;  it  is  a  test.     Sometimes  in  these  rituals  men  who  have 
not  your  marvellous  forbearance  are  brought  to  the  brink  of 
murder. 

Kamei 
Self-control  is  a  great  gift. 

Kira 

To  tell  the  truth,  the  test  to-day  was  more  strict  than  usual; 
for,  between  ourselves,  there  has  been  talk  of  disloyalty,  new 
ideas,  irreverence,  in  this  province,  and  the  good  wheat  is  being 
sifted. 

But,  come,  that  unpleasantness  is  over.  The  ritual  is  simply 
this.  Come  with  me  here.  [Leads  him  actors'  left.]  Your  place 
will  be  here.  You  will  be  told  when  to  come  forward.  Then 
you  will  .  .  .  [Whispers.]    You  understand  ? 

Kamei 
Is  that  all? 

Kira 
Yes.     I  leave  you  now.    And  let  me  thank  very  you  warmly 
for  your  charming  conduct  and  willing  pupilage.     [Shakes  his 
hand,  leaves  him  in  prompt  wings  and  returns  to  central  stage.] 
Sagisaka. 

[421] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
My  lord. 

[Enters] 

Kira 
See  that  Lord  Kamei's  men  are  treated  with  every  care. 

Sagisaka 
Yes,  Lord  Kira. 

Kira 

Has  Lord  Asano's  friend  come,  this  Kurano? 

Sagisaka 
No,  my  lord. 

Kira 

Is  he  in  sight?    Look  and  tell  me. 

Sagisaka 
There  is  a  horseman  on  the  road,  riding  fast. 


How  far  is  he  ? 
Three  minutes; 

four  . 

Kira 
Sagisaka 

Kira 
Is  it  likely  to  be  Kurano? 

Sagisaka 
It  might  be. 

Kira 
Kurano  is  the  wise  man  of  the  two;  he  is  a  man  of  sense? 

[422] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
He  is  said  to  have  more  than  his  master. 

Kira 
I  can  wait  three  minutes.     Put  these  pearls  in  the  treasury. 
See  that  man  Honzo  well  cared  for;  specially  well. 

Sagisaka 
Yes,  my  lord. 
Have  you  as  much  time  to  spare  as  you  think,  my  lord  ? 

Kira 
I  can  wait  two  minutes  more  for  Kurano. 

Sagisaka 
That  horseman  does  not  seem  to  be  coming  here,  my  lord; 
he  is  turning  off  at  the  cross-roads;  he  is  going  towards  the 
hills. 

Kira 
Is  anyone  else  in  sight? 

Sagisaka 
No.    Very  far  away  there  is  a  horseman. 

Kira 
How  far? 

Sagisaka 
Just  come  in  sight,  my  lord,  and  walking. 

Kira 
That  would  be  ten  minutes? 

[423] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
Sagisaka 


Quite,  my  lord. 


Kira 
I  cannot  wait  so  long.    I  must  go  on.    Let  the  other  come; 
Asano. 

[Sagisaka  goes  actors*  right  and  opens  door.] 

Sagisaka 
Will  you  come  in? 

[Asano  enters.    Sagisaka  goes  out  back] 

Kira 
Your  friend  has  not  come,  Lord  Asano. 

Asano 
I  am  grieved.    I  fear  his  wife  is  badly  hurt. 

Kira 
I  am  sorry. 

Asano 
I  will  tell  him  of  your  sympathy. 

Kira 
What  is  that? 

Asano 
I  will  tell  him  of  your  sympathy. 

Kira 
Ah,  yes. 

But  I  regret  his  absence  for  another  reason,  which  has  nothing 
to  do  with  an  accident  to  a  woman. 

[424] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ASANO 

Indeed. 

Kira 

I  presume  that  I  may  count  upon  his  coming  later? 

Asano 
I  cannot  answer  for  him. 

Kira 
I  presume  that  I  may  count  upon  someone  coming  on  your 
behalf,  if  not  now  at  least  in  connection  with  your  visit? 

Asano 
No  one  will  come  on  my  behalf,  Lord  Kira. 

Kira 
It  is  a  great  pity  that  Lord  Kurano  is  not  here;  I  fear  you 
do  not  understand  me. 

Asano 
I  understand  you  perfectly  well,  Lord  Kira.  You  are  hint- 
ing that  you  would  like  a  bribe.  I  tell  you  frankly  that  you 
hint  to  the  wrong  man.  I  would  not  make  you  a  present  if 
you  held  my  life  in  your  hand.  Now  teach  me  the  ritual,  as 
you  are  bidden,  and  let  me  hear  no  more  of  hinting  and  pre- 
suming.   You  pollute  this  place  and  degrade  your  office. 

Kira 

You  misunderstand,  Lord  Asano;  but  you  are  right,  we  will 

proceed  to  the  ritual.     Come  with  me  here.     [Leads  him  actors' 

right.]    Your  place  will  be  here.    You  will  be  told  when  to  come 

forward.    Then  you  will  .  .  .  [Whispers.]    Do  you  understand  ? 

[425] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

ASANO 

From  here? 

Kira 
Yes. 

ASANO 

It  is  not  easy  to  do. 

Kira 
Surely. 

Asano 
Can  I  not  rehearse  it  ? 

Kira 
The  ceremony  must  begin.     I  will  leave  you  here.     [He  re- 
mains alone  on  the  stage;  goes  slowly  back.]    Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 
[Entering.]    My  lord? 

Kira 
The  hosts  are  instructed  in  their  duty. 

Sagisaka 
The  Envoy  is  ready  to  proceed,  Lord  Kira. 

Kira 
As  he  pleases. 

[Kneels.    Sagisaka  goes  out,  Nobles  enter] 

Be  humble  and  prepare  for  the  glory  that  has  come  among  us. 

[The  Envoy  enters] 

Voices 
We  give  thanks  for  this  mercy  vouchsafed. 

[426] 


THE  FAITHFU1 

The  Envoy 
May  peace  be  here;  may  righteousness  be  done  here. 

Kira 
Be  it  again  declared,  that  he  who  breaks  the  peace  or  does 
unrighteousness  within  these  walls,  dies,  as  an  outlaw,  with 
the  greater  and  lesser  confiscations. 

Voices 
Be  it  enacted  as  it  is  declared. 

The  Envoy 
Who  welcomes  us  in  this  holy  place? 

Kira 
Those  whom  the  Presence  has  honoured,  if  it  be  so  willed. 

The  Envoy 
It  is  so  willed. 
[The  door,  actors'  left,  opens.     Kamei  appears  and  performs  his 
rite  properly.] 

Kamei 

I  have  the  honour  to  welcome  you. 

The  Envoy 
[Raising  him  to  the  seat  at  his  right.]    We  thank  you  for  this 
welcome,  which  we  well  know  proceeds  from  love. 

Few  things  are  so  pleasant  to  us  as  this  evidence  of  love  for 
Him  whom  we  all  serve,  and  the  knowledge  that  all  which  you 
do  for  ourselves,  great  though  it  is,  in  the  saving  of  pain  as 
well  as  in  the  vvarmth  of  welcome,  would  be  done  in  far  fuller 
measure  for  Him,  were  He  to  be  here. 

1 4*7 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Nor  is  it  less  pleasant  to  see  again  old  rites  and  customs  feel- 
ingly observed,  and  to  remember  the  beautiful  meaning  hidden 
in  them  by  the  reverence  of  our  fathers,  by  whom  we  live.  For 
what  we  do  here  keeps  alive  what  was  passionate  in  the  thought 
of  our  fathers;  a  thankful  and  holy  task,  which  none  but  an 
impious  man  would  slight  or  bring  to  mockery. 

It  is  so  willed. 

[The  door  (right)  opens.  Asano  enters,  advances  on  his  knees, 
stumbling  in  his  robes,  and  takes  the  Envoy's  hands.  The 
Nobles  laugh.] 

The  Envoy 
What  is  this  outrage? 

Kira 
What  has  possessed  you,  Asano? 

The  Envoy 
Do  you  do  this  to  insult  me? 

Asano 
Insult  you?    I  do  not  understand. 

Kira 
This  is  monstrous. 

Asano 
I  did  as  I  was  bid,  my  lord.     [Looking  round,  he  sees  all  the 
Nobles  tittering.]    You  planned  this,  Kira,  to  shame  me. 

Kira 
Do  not  aggravate  your  offence,  Asano.     Hold  him,  he  will 
kill  the  Envoy. 

[428] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ASANO 

You  shall  not  live  to  boast  of  it.    [Draws  dirk  and  strikes  at 
Kira.]    Die,  you. 

Nobles 

Part  them;  quick,  part  them. 

Kamei 
God,  he  has  killed  him. 

Asano 
There,  Kira. 

Sagisaka 
No. 

Asano 
Yes,  I  say. 

Sagisaka 

Let  go.     I  have  you.     Drop  the  dirk.    Wrest  it  from  him. 

A  Voice 
You  shall  not. 

A  Voice 
I  have  it.    No,  Lord  Asano,  come. 

Kira 
Oh!  remember,  remember;  this  is  a  holy  place. 

Kamei 
Lord  Kira  is  bleeding. 

Kira 
Never  mind  me,  look  to  the  Envoy.     He  stabbed  at  the 
Envoy. 

Kamei 
Hold  him,  he  is  fainting. 

[429I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

A  Voice 
Fetch  water.    He  has  been  stabbed  to  the  brain. 

Kamei 
Lean  on  me,  Lord  Kira. 

The  Envoy 
Is  he  dead  ? 

Kamei 

Blind  with  the  blood,  I  think,  my  lord.    It  is  a  cut  along  the 
brow.    Have  you  a  cloth?    The  cloth,  there! 

A  Voice 
This  is  a  terrible  thing,  Lord  Asano. 

The  Envoy 
Little  did  I  think  that  I  should  live  to  see  new  principles 
lead  to  so   blasphemous   a   sacrilege.     I   suspend  this   Court. 
Let  the  wound  be  dressed.    How  bad  is  the  wound? 

Kamei 
A  shallow  cut,  my  lord. 

A  Voice 
The  knife  must  have  slipped,  or  it  would  have  killed  him. 

The  Envoy 
See  to  it,  Shod  a.    Where  is  this  man? 

Kira 
My  lord,  although  his  aim  was  to  make  it  seem  that  I  had 
not  taught  him  the  ceremony,  and  afterwards  perhaps  to  kill 
me,  I  make  no  charge  against  him.     He  has  been  at  law  with 

[430] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

me  and  is  prejudiced  and  passionate;  I  think  not  really  wicked. 
As  far  as  any  injury  has  been  done  to  me,  I  ask  for  his  pardon, 
my  lord. 

The  Envoy 
That  well  becomes  you,  Lord  Kira.     I  wish  that  I  could 
grant  a  pardon.    Take  him,  Shoda,  before  the  cut  stiffens. 

[Kira  is  led  out] 
This  outlaw,  now.    It  is  Asano,  is  it  not? 

Asano 
Yes,  lord. 

The  Envoy 
Asano,  if  you  are  not  still  blind  with  passion,  listen  to  me. 
Perhaps  even  now  you  do  not  understand  your  position. 

Asano 

I  understand  it. 

The  Envoy 

That  I  am  thankful  for;  because  you  stand  upon  the  brink 
of  ruin. 

I  wish  that,  as  Lord  Kira  asks,  it  were  possible  to  pardon  you. 
But  society  is  held  together  solely  by  the  chain  of  order,  and 
to  weaken  a  link  of  that  chain  is  to  bring  in  chaos.  Think  of 
what  you  have  done,  and  of  what  you  have  outraged,  but  do 
not  think,  for  a  moment,  that  your  sin  can  be  lightly  punished. 

Asano 

The  net  was  set  for  me  and  I  am  caught.    I  am  too  wise,  my 

lord,  to  appeal  against  the  machine  of  this  world,  against  the 

strong,  unscrupulous  man  and  old  custom.     I  have  outraged 

both.     But  I  should  not  have  outraged  either  had  not  some- 

l43i  1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

thing  higher  been  outraged,  something  here  in  me.    Well,  you 
have  me. 

The  Envoy 

You  do  not  realise  your  offence,  Asano.  Your  sin  is  that  of 
blasphemous,  sacrilegious  passion,  shedding  blood  upon  con- 
secrated ground.  I  will  consider  your  case.  Remove  him. 
Bring  him  to  a  sense  of  how  he  stands.    Stay,  Lord  Kamei. 

[All  go,  save  Kamei] 

He  is  an  intemperate  man,  I  fear.    Do  you  know  him  ? 

Kamei 
He  is  a  gentle,  quiet  man,  my  lord. 

The  Envoy 
He  is  a  free  thinker,  they  tell  me. 

Kamei 
I  cannot  answer  for  a  man's  thoughts,  my  lord. 

The  Envoy 
You  can  deplore  what  they  lead  to,  I  hope. 

Kamei 
My  lord,  we  are  all  subject  to  passion.     Kira  so  insulted  me 
this  morning,  that  I  was  on  the  verge  of  killing  him. 

The  Envoy 
The  verge  is  the  line  between  man  and  devil,  and  men  keep 
within  it.    Leave  me.    [Kamei  goes.    A  pause.] 

A  Youth  enters 
[432] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

The  Youth 
I  beg  pardon,  my  lord. 

The  Envoy 
What  is  it? 

The  Youth 

I  was  to  cense  the  room,  my  lord.    [A  pause.] 

The  Envoy 
Boy. 

The  Youth 
Yes,  my  lord. 

The  Envoy 
Do  you  believe  in  God  ? 

The  Youth 
Yes,  sir. 

The  Envoy 

Would  you  forgive  a  man  who  had  broken  the  peace  in  the 
house  of  God  ? 

The  Youth 
Broken  it,  my  lord  ? 

The  Envoy 
Yes,  drawn  a  knife  there  and  tried  to  kill  a  man. 

The  Youth 
It  would  depend  on  what  the  other  man  had  done. 

The  Envoy 
Say  that  the  other  man  had  insulted  him  and  made  a  mock 
of  him  ? 

The  Youth 

That's  a  hard  case,  my  lord. 

[433  1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

The  Envoy 
Would  you  forgive  him  or  would  you  put  him  to  death  ? 

The  Youth 
My  lord,  it's  a  hard  case;  I  would  forgive  him. 

The  Envoy 
Why? 

The  Youth 

No  man  would  do  a  thing  like  that  unless  there  was  excuse. 

The  Envoy 
So  you  would  forgive  him.    Freely? 

The  Youth 
As  I  would  hope  to  be  forgiven  myself,  my  lord. 

The  Envoy 
Ah!  Will  you  find  Lord  Shoda  for  me?    He  is  outside  there. 
[The  Youth  goes.    Pause.    Shoda  comes.]    Shoda,  I  have  con- 
sidered this  case.     Order  the  other  ministrants  to  leave  the 
precincts. 

Shoda 
Very  well,  my  lord.    Shall  I  bring  the  prisoner  to  you  ? 

The  Envoy 
Not  yet.    See  that  Lord  Kamei  goes. 

Shoda 
I  will,  my  lord. 

The  Envoy 
When  you  go,  please  order  the  room  here  to  be  laid  with 
mattings.    [Exit  at  actors'  left.] 

[434 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Shoda 
I  will  give  order,  my  lord. 

[The  Youth  enters  to  cense  the  room] 


[Censing. 


The  Youth 

One  and  two  and  three 
Sweet  spirits  sweeten  me; 
With  thy  precious  grace 
Be  about  this  place; 
Let  Fate  with  the  dark  star 
Be  .  .  . 

[Enter  Kurano  at  back] 

KURANO 

Is  the  Court  broken  up? 

The  Youth 
Sir? 

KURANO 

Is  the  Court  broken  up?    Are  they  dining? 

The  Youth 
One  went  there,  my  lord,  to  that  room,  and  the  other  lords 
went  there;  but  I  do  not  know,  my  lord,  I  am  not  one  of  the 
household. 

Kurano 
Ah!     [Enter,  back,  two  men,  with  white  mattings,  who  cross  to 
front  and  prepare  the  seppuku.]    Where  is  the  Court  now?    Can 
you  tell  me?    [The  men  do  not  answer.]    What  is  this?    [Enter 
Kamel]    Ah,  here  is  Kamei.    Is  the  Court  over? 

l435l 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Kamei 
Yes,  it  is.    Your  friend,  Asano,  has  done  a  mad  thing. 

Kurano 
What? 

Kamei 
He  was  mad,  Kurano.     He  performed  the  ceremony  like  a 
madman  and  the  people  laughed.    He  drew  his  dirk  and  struck 
Kira  in  the  face. 

Kurano 

Then  Kira  taught  him  the  wrong  ritual. 

Kamei 
That  is  incredible. 

Kurano 

Things  are,  till  they  happen.    What  is  being  done? 

Kamei 
I  do  not  know.    I  have  been  ordered  to  go. 

Kurano 
Is  he  in  arrest?    Of  course  he  is.    Where  is  Kira? 

Kamei 
Gone  to  have  the  wound  dressed. 

Kurano 
Which  way,  though? 

Kamei 

You  cannot  set  upon  Kira  in  his  own  house. 

Kurano 
He  must  set  this  right.    You  boy,  where  is  Kira?    I  should 

[436] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

have  been  here  from  the  first:  my  wife's  unhurt.  I  galloped 
to  catch  you,  but  the  horse  went  lame.  Which  door,  you,  to 
Kira's  rooms?    Lord  Kira's  rooms? 

The  Youth 
One  of  these  doors,  my  lord.    I  do  not  know  which. 

Kurano 

Come,   Kamei.     We  must  find  either  Kira  or  the  Envoy. 

Come.     [He  goes  to  door  at  back,  just  as  it  is  flung  open.    Enter 

the  Envoy,  Shoda,  Asano  under  guard,  Sagisaka,  and  Nobles.] 

My  lord,  I  beg  for  the  privilege  of  a  moment's  speech  with  you. 

The  Envoy 
I  have  a  painful  duty  here,  sir,  which  makes  it  impossible. 

Asano 
I  am  condemned  to  kill  myself,   Kurano.     I   am  going  to 
death,  now,  for  striking  Kira. 

Kurano 
Good  God!    My  lord,  I  protest  against  this  sentence. 

The  Envoy 
You  protest? 

Asano 

Kurano,  do  not  ruin  yourself  for  my  sake. 

A  Guard 
Come,  sir;  stand  aside. 

Asano 
I  am  ruined  and  the  estate  confiscated;  that  is  enough.    Let 
the  ruin  end  with  me. 

[437] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

My  lord,  I  appeal.  Any  crime  is  sometines  justified,  and 
I  appeal  now  for  my  friend.  The  whole  ritual  was  irregular, 
he  was  unattended,  I  was  not  with  him. 

The  Envoy 
He  is  condemned  for  sacrilege,  Kurano. 

Kurano 
My  lord,  I  know.  But  I  know  this  man.  He  could  not  have 
committed  sacrilege.  I  say  that  Kira  wilfully  taught  him  the 
wrong  ritual  to  make  him  a  mock;  and  that  was  the  only 
sacrilege  committed  here,  and  in  striking  Kira  he  punished  it. 
I  claim  a  reversal  of  your  sentence  and  judgment  on  Kira. 

The  Envoy 
Arrest  this  man.    No,  no,  loose  him.    Stand  from  him. 
Have  you  any  evidence  to  support  your  statement  against 
Lord  Kira? 

Kurano 

None,  my  lord.  Only  my  knowledge  of  my  friend  and  Kira's 
hate. 

The  Envoy 

Sacrilege  is  a  sin  against  the  Divine;  the  question  of  human 
provocation  does  not  apply.  I  am  being  very  merciful  to  you, 
Lord  Kurano,  because  I  am  an  old  man  and  know  the  value  of 
life.  Do  not  force  me  to  remember  that  I  have  a  peculiar 
power. 

I  uphold  the  sacredness  of  my  master,  and  administer  His 
law,  as  an  old  man  soon  to  be  judged  himself. 

Will  you  be  silent  here,  in  this  place  of  death,  or  must  I  take 
order? 

[438] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

Nothing  that  I  say,  or  do,  can  save  my  friend? 

The  Envoy 
Nothing. 

Kurano 
I  have  duties  to  the  living,  then.    I  will  be  silent,  my  lord. 

Asano 
May  I  speak  with  him? 

The  Envoy 

It  is  not  usual  to  grant  speech. 

Kurano 
It  is  not  an  usual  case,  my  lord. 

The  Envoy 
You  may  speak  for  one  minute,  then. 

Asano 
Alone? 

The  Envoy 
The  minute  has  begun. 

Kurano 
My  dear  man. 

Asano 
Well,  Kurano,  the  gods  make  pawns  of  us. 

Kurano 
Kira  taught  you  the  wrong  ritual? 

[439] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
ASANO 

Yes. 

KURANO 

You  will  not  go  unavenged.  And  the  confiscation?  Who 
takes  the  land? 

Asano 

It  will  go  to  the  Crown,  I  fear.  I  pray  Kira  will  not  get  it. 
I  have  played  badly  for  those  who  trusted  to  me. 

Kurano 
This  is  the  gambit  only.    What  can  I  do  for  you  or  say  for 
you? 

Asano 
Nothing;    I    know    you'll    do    everything.     There    is    one 

thing 

Kurano 
What? 

Asano 
That  woman  whom  I  hoped  to  marry.    No.    She  belongs  to 
the  past.    I  can  think  of  nothing. 

Kurano 
There  is  no  need  where  one  loves. 

Asano 
There  are  strange  thoughts  rising  in  me  about  the  ways  of 
the  gods. 

Kurano,  one  thing  .  .  .  about  Kira.  You  spoke  of  ven- 
geance .  .  .  before  that  .  .  .  Listen.  Try  to  stop  the  con- 
fiscation. 

[440] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

The  Envoy 
The  minute  is  past. 

Asano 
Remember,    Kurano,   before   all   that  .  .  .  appeal  .  .  .  get 
the  inheritance  for  my  brother.    Remember. 

A  Guard 
Come  this  way,  Lord  Kurano. 

Kurano 
I  will  remember.    [He  is  led  off.] 

Asano 
Sometimes,  in  wintry  springs, 
Frost,  on  a  midnight  breath, 
Comes  to  the  cherry  flowers 
And  blasts  their  prime; 
So  I,  with  all  my  powers 
Unused  on  men  or  things, 
Go  down  the  wind  to  death, 
And  know  no  fruiting-time. 

[He  kneels  on  the  white  mat  and  takes  up  the  dirk] 
Curtain 


144*1 


ACT  II 

Scene — The  outer  scene 

A  Voice 
Lord  Asano  is  long  at  his  honours.    Is  that  he? 

A  Voice 
No,  not  yet. 

Voices 
No.     Hazama  has  gone  up  the  road  to  see  if  he  is  coming. 
He  must  be  here  soon. 

First  Ronin 
The  Envoy  may  have  kept  him. 

A  Voice 
There.    There  he  comes.    He  is  coming. 

Voices 
Welcome  home  from  your  honours,  Lord  Asano. 

Second  Ronin 
It  is  not  he;  not  yet;  but  he  cannot  be  long. 

First  Ronin 
Very  often  the  Envoy  keeps  them. 

Voice 
Whatever  honour  he  wins  they  will  not  honour  him  as  much 
as  we  do. 

[442I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Second  Ronin 
He  has  been  our  guardian  and  our  friend. 

A  Voice 
How  long  it  seems. 

First  Ronin 
Sometimes  the  Envoy  feasts  them;  in  fact,  usually. 

A  Voice 
Here  is  Hazama.    He  is  coming. 

Voices 
Asano,  welcome! 

Voices 

Where?    Show  me.    I  see  Kurano. 

Voices 
Welcome ! 

[Enter  Hazama] 

Welcome!    Welcome! 

Hazama 
No,  no!  no,  no!    Hush! 

Voices 
Asano! 

Hazama 
Quiet! 

Voices 

Asano.    Welcome!    Welcome! 

Hazama 
Hush.    Quiet!    Still! 

[443] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Voices 
Asano.    Asano! 

Hazama 
It  is  not  he,  I  tell  you.    It  is  Lord  Kurano. 

Voices 
Kurano!      It    is    Kurano.      Welcome.      Kurano.      Kurano! 
Carry  him.    We'll  carry  him  home. 

Hazama 
Still,  everybody! 

Voices 
Here  comes  Kurano,  etc. 

[Enter  Kurano] 

Hazama 
Here  comes  Lord  Kurano.    Welcome  him  home  to  us. 

Voices 
Kurano.    Welcome  back  to  us,  Lord  Kurano! 

Kurano 
Stop  this  noise.    Have  this  noise  stopped,  Azama. 

Voices 
Kurano  and  Asano  forever.    Welcome!  etc. 

Kurano 
Let  them,  for  God's  sake,  stop.    Silence,  I  say. 

Hazama 
Still,  still!    Still  a  moment! 

[444 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Voices 
Friends  forever.    Our  friends  forever.    Hush.    Quiet. 

Kurano 
Come  round  me  here. 

Voices 
He  has  something  to  say. 

Third  Ronin 
Would  you  taste  our  wine,  lord  ? 

Hazama 
Wait  till  he  has  spoken. 

Kurano 
Kneel  down. 

Hazama 
What  is  it,  master? 

Kurano 
Your  master  Asano  is  dead. 

Hazama 
For  God's  sake,  master! 

Voices 
Dead?    In  God's  name!    Our  master?    What  killed  him? 

A  Voice 
What  was  it  he  said  ?    I  did  not  hear. 

A  Voice 
That  our  master  Asano  is  dead. 

[445  1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Fifth  Ronin 

0  desolation! 

First  Ronin 
That  death  should  happen  like  this,  going  to  an  honour! 

Hazama 
If  I  might  ask  it,  master,  how  did  he  come  by  his  end  ? 

Kurano 
By  a  knife. 

First  Ronin 
By  an  accident,  then,  was  it  ? 

Kurano 
No. 

Third  Ronin 
Was  no  one  there  ?    Did  no  one  see  ? 

Kurano 

1  saw.    There  were  many  looking  on. 

Hazama 
Was  he  murdered  ? 

Kurano 

My  friends,  he  was  condemned  to  death.     He  killed  him- 
self. 

All 
Oh!   Oh,  God! 

Kurano 
This  is  the  knife.    This,  here.    This  killed  your  master. 

[446] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Voices 
Look,  if  there  isn't  his  blessed  blood  on  it.    0  Master  Kurano! 
Poor  soul.     Poor  blessed  saint! 

Hazama 
My  master  that  raised  me,  done  to  death  like  a  thief! 

Kurano 
Done  to  death,  by  Kira.    Goaded  to  it.    Hounded  to  it  till 
it  passed  bounds,  when  he  struck  Kira  and  was  condemned. 

Hazama 
Kira  is  dead,  then  ? 

Kurano 
No,  alive;  scarcely  hurt. 

Hazama 
Then  come,  all  of  us,  we'll  burn  him  in  his  house. 

Kurano 
Wait.    That  could  only  be  death.    Kira  has  borrowed  guards. 
His  house  is  surrounded  by  them. 

Hazama 
We  will  wait  till  the  guards  are  gone. 

Kurano 
You  see  this  paper?    You  hold  an  Envoy  sacred? 

Voices 
Yes,  indeed. 

[447] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

This  is  an  Envoy's  decree.  I  am  charged  by  the  Envoy  to 
read  it  to  you.    I  will  read  it: 

"These  are  to  declare  that  anyone  who  endeavours  in  any 
way  to  avenge  Lord  Asano  or  to  hinder  the  transfer  of  the  es- 
tate will  put  himself  without  the  law  and  will  be  punished  by 
instant  death,  with  confiscation  of  goods. " 

You  see,  nothing  but  ruin  can  come  of  any  protest  or  act; 
nothing  but  death;  and  you  are  married  men,  with  wives  and 
children,  or  young  men  with  parents  to  keep.  If  you  lift  a 
finger  to  avenge  our  friend,  it  can  only  wreck  yourselves  and 
them.    You  must  submit. 

Voices 
We  had  rather  die.    No,  no!    We  will  not  submit. 

Kurano 
I  knew  him  well;  better  than  you.    He  was  very  dear  to  me. 
You  have  your  wives  and  children  to  think  of.    You  must  re- 
member those;  they  have  a  claim  upon  you.     But  to  me,  he 
comes  first. 

A  Voice 
And  to  us,  master. 

Kurano 
No,  no!     You  must  remember  what  I  have  read  to  you, 
and  the  ruin  of  your  families. 

Voices 
We're  ruined  as  it  is.     Kira  shall  die.     Die,  now.     Lead  us 
against  him,  you. 

We  can  never  be  in  better  state  to  avenge  him. 

[448] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

No,  No!    Wait.     Before  we  deal  with  Kira  we  must  fulfil 
Asano's  dying  wish. 

Voices 
What  was  that,  master? 

Kurano 
To  save  the  estates  for  the  rightful  heir. 
I  can  only  appeal  for  that  if  you  obey  this  edict.    [Murmurs.] 
You  must  obey  it. 

Voices 


We  will  not. 

It  is  his  last  word  to  me. 

We  must  kill  Kira. 


Kurano 


Voices 


Kurano 
You  cannot  kill  Kira.  We  may  stop  his  getting  these  es- 
tates, which  you  may  be  sure  he  aims  for.  And  there  is  an- 
other thing.  A  shameful  thing.  [Murmurs.]  Our  master  is 
denied  burial.  [Cries.]  He  is  sentenced  to  a  criminal's  grave. 
If  we  can  stop  the  confiscation,  we  may  remove  that  slur,  too. 
Wait  till  these  appeals  are  judged,  before  you  think  of  revenge. 
But  more  news  comes.  .  .  . 

[Enter  Fourth  Ronin] 

Voices 
Who  is  this?    It's  the  widow's  boy  from  up  by  the  ford. 
What  is  it? 

Fourth  Ronin 
Lord  Kurano. 

[449] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

Yes.    What? 

Fourth  Ronin 
Our  Lord  Asano  is  killed  and  all  our  land  is  to  be  Kira's. 

Kurano 
Yes. 

Fourth  Ronin 
Kira's  guards  are  moving  in  from  the  valley-head  already, 
to  turn  us  out.  Hundreds  of  them  are  coming.  Look  there, 
lord,  you  can  see  the  flames.  They  have  burnt  my  old  mother's 
house.  They  have  orders  to  burn  every  house  and  occupy  the 
whole  province.  There  are  horsemen  with  them,  herding  the 
stock;  they  are  taking  and  destroying  everything. 

Kurano 
It  has  begun,  then. 

Fourth  Ronin 

They  are  going  to  scatter  us  so  that  we  shall  not  avenge  our 
master. 

But  that  is  nothing,  Lord  Kurano.  I  was  in  a  barn,  among 
the  straw,  and  I  heard  the  troopers  talking.  They  are  coming 
for  you,  they  said,  for  you  are  the  leader. 

Kurano 
Are  they  going  to  kill  me  ? 

Fourth  Ronin 
They  said  they  were  going  to  make  sure  of  you.    They  will 
kill  you  if  you  show  a  sign  against  them,  Lord  Kurano.     I 
have  run  to  beg  you  to  hide. 

[450] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Kurano 

I  will  not  hide.  But  you  see  now,  you  see  how  little  hope 
there  is. 

But  in  the  few  moments  left  to  us,  before  we  are  scattered, 
shall  we  not  make  a  pact  together,  that  we'll  avenge  our  friend  ? 

Voices 
Ay,  we  will.    We  will  indeed. 

Kurano 
Let  me  trap  no  one.  There  will  be  no  feasting  in  this  fellow- 
ship; only  a  wandering  in  the  cold,  perhaps  for  months,  and 
death  at  the  end,  according  to  this  decree.  Understand 
solemnly  that  the  man  who  puts  hand  on  mine  marks  him- 
self for  death. 

Voices 
We  will  come,  Lord  Kurano. 

Voices 
We  know  what  the  end  will  be. 

Voices 
One  has  to  pay  a  price  in  this  world.    We  are  ready  to  pay 
this,  Lord  Kurano. 

Kurano 
Come  about  me. 

Here  is  the  relic  of  our  friend.  Let  us  swear  together,  on 
this  relic,  to  avenge  his  death. 

Voices 
Yes,  master. 

l45i] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

I  speak,  then,  for  each  man  here.  I  will  avenge  your  death, 
Asano,  lord  and  master,  on  the  person  of  Kira  Kots'ke,  or  die 
in  the  task,  and  to  this  I  consecrate  my  life.  Will  you  swear 
to  this? 

Voices 

I  swear.  I  swear.  So  be  it.  I  swear.  I,  too,  swear.  I 
make  oath  to  this.  I  put  my  hand  to  this.  May  my  name 
perish  if  I  fail  in  this.  I  swear.  I,  too,  swear.  I  vow  this 
solemnly,  Lord  Asano.    I  swear,  etc. 

Kurano 
Now  swear,  too,  that  you  will  avenge  him  only  as  I  bid  you, 
and  when  I  bid  you. 

Hazama 
You  are  our  captain,  Lord  Kurano. 

Voices 
We  swear  that  we  will  obey  you  faithfully. 

Kurano 

Then  it  will  not  be,  and  must  not  be,  till  after  the  suits  are 
heard. 

All  is  done,  then;  but  to  say  good-bye.  We  have  no  home 
here,  henceforth;  we  are  ronin  and  wanderers. 

Scatter,  now,  through  the  province,  wander  and  wait;  that 
is  all  that  we  can  do;  his  spies  will  be  on  us. 

Now  comes  the  bad  time  when  you  will  be  tried,  and  I  have 
only  one  word  to  say  to  you:  Endure.  Endure  all  things,  all 
things;  lest  we  lose  our  revenge. 

[452] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Hazama 
And  you,  Lord  Kurano,  Kira  will  want  to  kill  you. 

Kurano 
Yes,  he  will  want  to  kill  me. 

Hazama 
Will  you   stay  here,   lord,   when  his  soldiers   are  coming? 
Come  with  us,  master,  for  safety's  sake. 

Kurano 

I  have  my  own  part  to  play  here. 

Dismiss,  then.    And  believe  nothing  that  men  say  of  me. 

But,  I  give  you  no  hope,  remember;  nor  any  word  but  en- 
dure. Perhaps  some  day  he  will  dismiss  his  guards  .  .  .  and 
then  .  .  .  justice  may  be  done  ...  if  there  is  justice.     Now 

go- 

[They  go  out,  leaving  him  alone.    The  Girl  remains] 

Kurano 
What  are  you? 

Girl 
Nobody. 

Kurano 
What  is  your  name? 

Girl 
Wild  Cherry. 

Kurano 
What  are  you  doing  here? 

Girl 
I  came  over  for  the  feast. 

l453l 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 
There  will  be  no  feast. 

Girl 
I  hate  Kira. 

Kurano 

It  is  very  wrong  to  hate  people. 

Girl 
You  don't  see  them  so  close  as  I  do. 

Kurano 
True. 

Girl 
I  like  wine. 

Kurano 

There  is  plenty  here.    Drink. 

Girl 
I  like  you. 

Kurano 
How  old  are  you  ? 

Girl 
Old  enough. 

Kurano 

You  ought  to  be  with  your  lover,  child. 

Girl 
Ah!    I've  a  lover,  haven't  I? 

Kurano 
Was  your  lover  killed  ? 

[4S4l 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Girl 
Yes,  Kira  hanged  him.    I'd  have  been  married  but  for  that. 
Now  I  don't  much  care. 
This  yellow  wine  is  nice. 

Kurano 
You  good  gods. 

Girl 
You'll  get  past  that  stage.    Was  it  a  friend  of  yours  that  was 
killed? 

Kurano 
Yes. 

Girl 
Was  that  through  Kira? 

Kurano 
Yes. 

Girl 

We  ought  to  be  friends,  we  two.  You  take  it  too  seriously; 
I  did  at  first.  What  is  the  use  of  sorrowing?  It  won't  bring 
him  back.    Had  your  friend  fair  hair? 

Kurano 
No,  girl;  dark. 

Girl 
Mine  was  fair.     This  was  some  of  it.     Of  course,  I'm  the 
lowest  of  the  low,  but  I've  always  kept  some  of  it;  then  one 
doesn't  feel  so  low. 

Kurano 
I  shall  kill  Kira. 

Girl 
I  thought  I  would  at  first;  but  one  cannot  kill  Kira.     Be- 

[45Sl 


THE  FAITHFUL 

sides,  what  is  the  use?  It  won't  make  it  any  better.  Nothing 
makes  it  better,  except  wine.  They  do  charge  us  for  wine. 
You  ought  not  to  complain;  you  have  all  this  for  nothing. 

Kurano 
Give  me  some. 

Girl 
I'll  try  some  of  the  red. 

I'm  sorry  about  your  friend.     It  makes  one  so  savage  and 
all  the  time  one  is  so  helpless.    Here's  a  lady. 

Kurano 
It  is  my  wife.    Sit  still.    Give  me  some  wine. 

Girl 
Now  I  shall  get  beaten  and  then  they'll  fine  me  especially 
if  my  sash  is  torn. 

Kurano 

Hand  me  that  bowl;  thank  you. 

Lady  K. 
Kurano. 

Kurano 

What  do  you  want  with  Kurano? 


Who  is  this? 

My  sister. 

What  has  happened? 

Asano  is  killed. 


Lady  K. 
Kurano 
Lady  K. 
Kurano 
[456] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Lady  K. 
I  felt  that  it  would  end  like  that.     Thank  God,  it  was  not 
you. 

Kurano 
Do  not  thank  God  yet.    Why  did  you  lie  to  me? 

Lady  K. 
When  did  I  lie  to  you  ? 

Kurano 
This  morning.    You  lied  and  made  others  lie. 

Lady  K. 
This  is  a  strange  language.    I  do  not  understand.    What  do 
you  mean,  Kurano? 

Kurano 
You  sent  word  to  me  this  morning  that  you  had  fallen  on 
the  steps? 

Lady  K. 
I  did  fall. 

Kurano 
And  that  you  were  dying. 

Lady  K. 
No.    My  message  was  simply  "Come.    Come  quickly." 

Kurano 
The  messenger  said  that  you  were  dying. 

Lady  K. 
I  do  not  know  what  the  messenger  may  have  said. 

Kurano 
You  scared  the  messenger. 

[4571 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Lady  K. 
He  was  concerned  for  me.    Were  not  you? 

Kurano 
Too  deeply — God! 

Lady  K. 
What  is  the  matter,  Kurano?    Why  do  you  speak  to  me  in 
this  way  ? 

Kurano 
You  were  not  hurt  this  morning? 

Lady  K. 
I  was  hurt  and  shaken,  and  I  am  faint  and  sick  still. 


Kurano 

Not 

to  that  point. 

Lady  K. 

Will 

you  not  even 

ask  me  how  I  am  ? 

Kurano 

No. 

Lady  K. 

Oh, 

you  are  cruel  1 

to  me, 

Kurano 
Do  you  know  that  if  you  had  not  recalled  me,  I  should  have 
been  with  Asano  to-day?     And  then  all  this  would  not  have 
happened,  and  he  would  be  alive  now. 

Lady  K. 
That  is  ignoring  Fate.    Who  can  measure  causes  and  results? 

[458] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

I  can  measure  that. 

Lady  K. 
Your  place  was  beside  your  wife,  Kurano. 

Kurano 
Only  while  my  wife  is  worthy.    No,  do  not  weep,  do  not  cry 
out;  I  know  you.    Your  fall  was  a  trick  to  keep  me. 

Lady  K. 
Can  you  think,  after  twenty  years,  that  I  should  stoop  to 
trick? 

Kurano 
Yes. 

Lady  K. 
Is  it  not  rather  terrible  to  you   that  a  woman  should  be 
forced  to  trick,  after  twenty  years? 

Listen,  then.  I  did  trick.  I  did  it  to  save  you.  I  knew 
where  Asano  was  dragging  you  in  his  mad  opposition  to  Kira. 
I  knew  that  he  would  ruin  himself  and  you,  too,  and  that  to- 
day would  decide  it.    So  I  saved  you,  Kurano. 

Kurano 
And  my  friend  lies  down  in  the  dust. 

The  blood  runs  along  the  ground  and  soaks  in,  and  then  the 
brain  cannot  think  and  the  hand  cannot  do,  and  twenty  years' 
work  is  a  memory.  You  killed  Asano  and  do  not  even  know 
what  he  was. 

Lady  K. 
I  loved  Asano.     I  loved  your  friendship  with  him.     I  know 
how  you  have  worked  together.     I  knew  his  nobleness.     But 

[459] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

I  knew  that  if  he  were  twenty  times  as  noble  he  would  still  not 
be  worth  your  little  finger.  You  are  too  generous,  Kurano, 
where  you  love,  and  too  blind. 

Kurano 
Asano  is  blind.    [He  rises.] 

Lady  K. 
What  are  you  going  to  do,  Kurano? 

Kurano 
Drink. 

Lady  K. 
Will  you  not  take  me  home? 

Kurano 
I  have  no  home.    The  "mad  opposition"  is  over  now;  Kira 
is  master  here.    Do  you  hear,  you,  who  admired  Kira  so?    Go 
and  make  your  peace  with  him.    I  am  going. 

Lady  K. 
Where? 

Kurano 
Where  beaten  men  go. 

Lady  K. 
I  am  your  wife,  Kurano. 

Kurano 
You  were. 

Lady  K. 
I  am  your  wife;  more  than  that,  I   am  your  loving  wife. 
Dear,  I  am  all  shaken  and  strange.     Say  a  kind  word  to  me. 

[460] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

You  will,  I  know  you  will;  you  would  never  do  an  unkind 
thing. 

I  know  that  I  am  nothing  beside  Asano;  but  now  that  he 
is  dead,  I  could  help  a  little.  I  want  the  world  to  know  how 
noble  and  wonderful  my  husband  is. 

Kurano 
Those  are  words;  drink,  and  a  dirk  in  the  ribs,  are  my  future. 

Lady  K. 
Then  I  had  better  go  and  drown  myself. 

Kurano 
It  would  be  better. 

Lady  K. 
Oh! 

Kurano 
I  am  giving  you  good  advice.  You're  harmless,  as  women 
go,  what  is  called  virtuous,  loving,  wise.  Go  and  drown  your- 
self. Kira  is  coming.  Asano  was  all  that,  yet  it  ended  in  him 
killing  himself.  You  virtuous  are  lost  in  such  a  world.  Go 
drown  or  drink;  then  you'll  be  spared  things. 

Lady  K. 
That  is  not  the  language  we  have  faced  the  world  with  these 
twenty  years.  Dear,  do  not  drive  me  away  like  this.  Let  us 
face  it  together.  I  do  not  mind  for  myself,  but  you  are  lost 
somewhere  and  I  want  to  be  by  you.  You  cannot  put  twenty 
years'  life  together  so  lightly  aside.  Think  of  our  children  and 
our  times  together.  Dear,  I  beg  you  not  to  put  me  away.  I  am 
ill,  dear,  and  faint,  and  I  cannot  bear  this.  We'll  plan  what  we 
can  do  against  Kira.    This  is  so  unfitting,  it  is  breaking  my  heart. 

[461] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

Drink  this,  then,  and  forget  it;  drink. 

Lady  K. 
It  is  not  a  little  thing  that  you  are  putting  away,  Kurano. 

Kurano 
I  am  thirsty,  and  I  am  weary  of  you;  besides,  this  is  my 
sister. 

Lady  K. 

I  will  not  interrupt  you,  Kurano.    [Exit.] 

Girl 
Was  that  really  your  wife? 

Kurano 
Yes,  poor  soul. 

Girl 
You  oughtn't  to  have  driven  her  away,  like  that. 

Kurano 
Why,  the  thing  has  come  to  an  end. 

Girl 
Still,  she  hadn't  hurt  your  friend,  had  she? 

Kurano 
She?    No. 

It  is  twenty-one  years,  to  a  day,  that  we  first  joined  hands. 
[He  covers  his  face.]    Now  I  shall  not  see  her  again. 
Stand  up  there,  you,  and  tell  me  what  you  see? 

Girl 
Nothing  but  the  fields. 

[462] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 
Look  along  the  road,  towards  Kira's  country. 

Girl 
Yes,  there  is  something  burning.    It  is  moving. 

Kurano 
Those  are  torches.    I  thought  he  would  be  coming  soon.    It 
is  Kira  coming  to  take  possession  here. 

Girl 
Is  that  beast  coming  here? 

Kurano 
Yes.    Give  me  some  more  wine. 

Girl 
I'm  afraid. 

Kurano 
Drink.    It  is  not  so  bad,  this  life  of  ours,  while  one  has  this. 
Can  you  dance? 

Girl 
Not  if  Kira  is  coming  here. 

Kurano 
I  can  dance.    I've  a  good  mind  to  try.    I  can  dance  stately 
dances  and  gay  dances;  and  I  can  sing. 

Girl 
Don't  you  anger  Kira. 

Kurano 
I  tell  you  I  can  sing.    I'm  going  to  sing. 

[463I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Girl 
Don't,  I  say,  don't.    You  don't  know  Kira.     He  is  terrible. 
You  take  me  away  somewhere.     It  will  be  death  if  you  stay 
here  talking  all  this  folly. 

Kurano 
Why  do  you  make  that  noise  when  I  say  I'm  going  to  sing? 
You  have  never  heard  me  sing.  The  roses  turn  to  me,  when  I 
sing.  The  birds  in  the  air  turn.  There  was  a  song  I  made 
when  my  friend  came  home;  that  was  the  friend  who  was 
killed.  But  I  won't  sing  that,  that  was  too  sad;  I  want  a 
merry  song;  for  what  is  the  use  of  being  sad?  Come  you  and 
sing. 

Girl 
You  are  mad. 

Kurano 
Listen  to  me,  now.    Is  not  this  well  sung? 

Fate  with  her  changing  tune 

Keeps  her  appointed  time, 

Her  ever  breaking  thread, 

For  ever  spinning. 

We,  who  are  singing,  soon 

Will  cease  to  rhyme, 

Our  moment  will  be  sped.  .  .  . 

What  comes  next?    Hark!    Did  you  hear  footsteps? 

Girl 
It's  the  torches.    Don't  let  them  catch  me  here. 

Kurano 
Sit  still  and  drink.    Come  here  to  me. 

[464I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Girl 
No,  I'm  going,  I'll  not  stay.    You  don't  know  what  soldiers 
are. 

Kurano 

You  are  my  dear  and  my  delight  and  now  we  will  sing  to- 
gether. 

Yellow  wine  in  a  silver  bowl 
Is  true  contentment  to  the  soul. 
A  dancing  girl  with  brilliant  eyes 
Is  true  contentment  to  the  wise. 
O  friends,  rejoice,  for  man  is  meant. 

[Enter  Kira's  guards  with  Sagisaka] 

Sagisaka 
This  is  the  man  we  have  come  to  see. 

Kurano 
Who  are  you  and  what  do  you  want?     Let  me  finish  my 
song  ?. 

To,  what  is  it,  man  is  meant? 
To  dance  and  sing  and  be  content. 

This  is  my  sister.    You  haven't  told  me  yet  who  you  are. 

Sagisaka 
Pay  attention  to  all  he  says,  Captain.     You  know  me  well 
enough. 

Kurano 

I  do.    You  are  Lord  Kira's  wife. 

Sagisaka 
I 

[465] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

Are  not  you? 

Sagisaka 
No,  I  am  not. 

Kurano 
I  get  puzzled,  seeing  you  so  much  together.     This  is  very 
excellent  wine. 

Sagisaka 
I  did  not  come  to  drink,  Lord  Kurano. 

Kurano 
It's  the  most  innocent  of  the  vices. 

The  Captain  of  the  Guards 
Is  this  the  man  ? 

Sagisaka 
Yes. 

Captain 
He  seems  a  drunken  fellow. 

Sagisaka 
He  is  less  drunken  than  he  seems. 

Captain 
I  am  not  sure.    Come  and  drink,  come  and  drink,  my  friend. 
There  is  nothing  like  drink. 

Kurano 
You're  a  reasonable  being.    It  is  the  one  friend.    Here's  one 
for  you. 

Is  that  your  friend  ? 

U66] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Captain 
Yes. 

KURANO 

He  is  an  ugly  one. 

Captain 
He  was  kicked  in  the  face  by  a  mule  when  he  was  young. 

Kurano 
Do  not  make  fun  of  me. 

Captain 
It  is  the  truth;  isn't  it? 

Sagisaka 
But  now  I  do  the  kicking. 

Kurano 
I  don't  like  you. 

Sagisaka 
That's  unfortunate,  for  you'll  perhaps  see  a  good  deal  of  me 
in  the  near  future. 

Kurano 
Shall  we  drink  together? 

Sagisaka 
No. 

Kurano 

Then  if  you  won't  drink  you're  a  dog  and  an  unbelieving  dog 
and  the  mule  shewed  sense.  What  do  you  come  here  for,  if  not 
to  drink? 

Captain 
Humour  a  drunkard. 

[467] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
I  come  to  take  over  these  estates,  which  are  forfeited  by  that 
friend  of  yours. 

Kurano 
Is  your  friend  Kira  going  to  have  them? 

Sagisaka 
Yes. 

Kurano 

Is  Kira  in  want  of  a  man,  for  I  shall  be  out  of  employment. 

Sagisaka 
Kira  does  not  employ  drunkards. 

Kurano 
Who  says  I  am  a  drunkard? 

Captain 
Never  mind  what  my  friend  says.    He  does  not  know  you. 

Kurano 
Do  you  dare  to  call  me  a  drunkard  ? 

Sagisaka 
I'll  dare  more  than  that,  when  this  first  month  is  over. 

Captain 
He  calls  you  a  gentleman. 

Kurano 
So  I  am  a  gentleman. 

Captain 
We  are  all  gentleman. 

[468] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

Don't  let  him  call  me  a  drunkard  then. 

Captain 
Come,  we  are  all  friends;  and  this  is  your  sister.     Is  your 
name  Cherry? 

Kurano 
Her  name's  my  sister. 

Captain 
I  had  a  sister  like  her  once. 

Kurano 
Then  you  had  more  than  you  deserve. 

Captain 
I  had.    She  cost  me  six  months'  pay. 

Kurano 
I  like  you.    We  shall  be  friends.    Shall  we  make  him  drunk? 

Captain 
No,  it  would  kill  him. 

Kurano 
Never  mind. 

Captain 
It  would  be  difficult. 

Kurano 
No.    We  would  throw  him  down  and  pour  the  wine  down  his 
throat.    Shall  we? 

Captain 
Yes.    Yes. 

[469] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

You  take  his  heels. 

Girl 
Yes. 

KURANO 

We  will. 

Captain 
Yes,  but  wait  a  moment. 

Kurano 
No,  not  wait. 

Captain 
Yes;  first  let  us  all  three  be  drunk. 

Kurano 
Roaring  drunk? 

Captain 
Roaring  and  raging  drunk. 

Kurano 

All  be  drunk. 

Fll  be  drunk.  You'll  be  drunk.  She'll  be  drunk.  We'll  be 
drunk,  you'll  be  drunk,  he'll  be  drunk.  We'll  ajl  be  drunk. 
Let  us  see  who'll  be  drunk  first.  Here's  yours,  here's  yours. 
I  don't  want  to  be  drunk,  I  want  to  dance.  Kira  is  coming 
here,  so  we  shall  be  friends,  you  and  I  will  be  friends. 

You  think  I've  been  against  Kira;  I'm  his  best  friend  and 
your  best  friend,  so  let  us  dance. 

Sagisaka 
You  shall  dance  to-morrow. 

Kurano 
I  want  to  dance  now.    My  sister  will  dance  with  me. 

[  470 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Girl 
Oh,  loose  me,  do!  I'll  get  fined  ever  so  if  the  stuff  is  rumpled. 

Kurano 
I  tell  you,  we  will  dance.    Come  here.    We  will  move  those 
mats  to  one  side.    Are  you  coming  to  dance? 

Captain 
Yes;  dance,  yes,  as  soon  as  ever  you  have  moved  the  mats. 

Kurano 
I  like  you.    Are  you  a  good  dancer. 

Captain 
Not  so  good  as  you. 

Kurano 
I  am  a  good  dancer,  am  not  I  ? 

Captain 
Excellent.    Let  me  see  you  dance  the  sword  dance. 

Kurano 
Shall  we  pour  the  wine  on  our  heads  first? 

Captain 
No,  afterwards,  when  we  are  hot. 

Kurano 
But  we  will? 

Captain 
Yes.    Oh  yes. 

[47i] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

Yes,  we  will  pour  the  wine  on  our  heads.  We  are  going  to 
pour  the  wine  on  our  heads. 

Sagisaka 
I  would. 

KURANO 

[To  Girl].  I'll  pour  it  on  yours  and  then  we'll  dance. 
Sometimes  I  am  sad,  for  all  my  merrymaking.  It  is  not  such 
an  easy  world.  There  is  a  fellow,  Death,  who  is  a  danger,  if 
one  could  find  him.  I  had  a  friend  once;  my  head  is  all  in 
a  whirl;  a  very  dear  friend;  I  could  weep  when  I  think  what 
happened  to  him.  It  was  Death  who  took  him  away.  I  would 
like  to  go  to  look  for  Death. 

Captain 
Your  sister  will  bring  you  to  him. 

Kurano 
Yes,  so  they  say;  all  have  told  me  that. 

I  will  go  look  for  Death,  for  Death  is  everywhere, 
Putting  his  hands  on  friends  and  dulling  women's  hair. 
Death  took  away  my  friend;  and  I  have  prayed  for  years, 
But  Death  has  paid  no  heed.    Death  does  not  yield  to  tears. 

Captain 
Death  is  like  that. 
You  should  drink  again. 

Kurano 

There  is  no  wine  strong  enough.  But  we  will  find  him,  some 
day. 

[ml 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
He  may  be  nearer  than  you  think. 

Kurano 
You  look  like  a  friend  of  his.     I  have  known  wise,  beautiful 
people;  but  Death  did  not  care.    [To  Girl.]    We  will  go  away, 
we  two;  I  do  not  like  these  people;  they  think  only  of  them- 
selves.   We,  who  have  lost  friends,  are  in  another  world. 

We  know  how  many  miles  the  soul  can  tread, 

We  who  go  seeking  signs  from  dear  companions  dead. 

Come,  girl,  we'll  go.     Poor  child,  you  are  cold.    We'll  knock 
at  the  doors  for  shelter.    [Exit.] 

Captain 
There  is  no  doubt  about  him,  poor  fellow. 

Sagisaka 
I  am  not  so  sure. 

Captain 
He  is  both  drunk  and  mad. 

Sagisaka 
I  would  like  to  see  him  sober. 

Captain 
I  was  sorry  for  him.    This  death  of  his  friend  has  turned  his 
brain. 

Sagisaka 
It  had  better  remain  turned.     Did  you  feel  that  he  was 
drunk? 

Captain 
Yes. 

[4731 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
And  mad,  you  said? 

Captain 
Yes,  both. 

Sagisaka 
He  is  an  object  of  pity,  a  martyr.    He  is  dangerous,  so. 

Captain 
He  could  be  shut  up,  if  he  should  become  that. 

Sagisaka 
That  would  make  him  still  more  a  martyr. 

Captain 
What  is  he  doing,  now?    I  cannot  see. 

Sagisaka 
He'll  come  back.    Captain. 

Captain 
Yes? 

Sagisaka 
I  believe  he  is  pretending. 

Captain 
He  pretends  unusually  well,  then. 

Sagisaka 
Captain,  can  you  take  a  hint? 

Captain 
Yes. 

[474] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
He  would  be  better  out  of  the  way. 

Captain 
I've  no  orders  about  that;  that  is  life  and  death. 

Sagisaka 
Kira  would  be  grateful. 

Captain 
I've  no  means  of  knowing  that. 

Sagisaka 
I  will  answer  for  so  much. 

Captain 
Do  you  order  me  to  kill  him  ? 

Sagisaka 
Come,  these  are  harsh  words,  Captain;  "order"  and  "kill." 

Captain 
It's  a  harsh  subject. 

Sagisaka 
Supposing  he  were  to  talk  in  his  cups,  excitedly,  provoca- 
tively. ...    Or  rave  against  us  .  .  .  inciting  to  riot.  .  .  . 

Captain 
Well,  what  then?     I  could  only  arrest  him  for  .  .  .  being 
drunk  ...  or  out  of  his  mind. 

Sagisaka 
Of  course.  .  .  .     What  more  could  you  do?     You  would 
arrest  him. 

[4751 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Captain 
That  would  not  help  you. 

Sagisaka 
Supposing  he  were  to  resist  arrest,  to  struggle  with  you,  or 
to  try  to  get  away? 

Captain 

The  guard  would  bind  him. 

Sagisaka 
If  he  were  violent.     One  of  them  might  .  .  .  in  self-defence? 

Captain 
I  see  what  you  mean. 

Sagisaka 
Kira  would  not  forget  it. 

Captain 
You  want  him  killed  ? 

Sagisaka 
It  would  be  easier  with  him  away. 

Captain 
I  see. 

Sagisaka 
Kira  is  thinking  of  putting  you  in  command  here. 

Captain 
Ah! 

Sagisaka 
Can  I  trust  you  to  carry  out  Kira's  wishes  ? 

[476] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Captain 
The  man  is  only  a  madman.    He  is  harmless. 

Sagisaka 
Madmen  are  not  harmless,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  he  is 
mad. 

Captain 
Drunken,  then. 

Sagisaka 
He  is  neither  one  nor  the  other.    He  is  pretending. 

Captain 
If  he  is  pretending,  I  will  see  to  him. 

Sagisaka 
You  promise? 

Captain 
Yes,  but  that  is  not  pretence.    Watch  him  there  as  he  comes. 

Sagisaka 
I  shall  watch  him  very  narrowly. 

Captain 
What  is  he  saying? 

Sagisaka 
Some  folly.    If  I  lift  my  hand  like  this,  it  will  be  a  sign;  and 
then  you  will  kill  him. 

Captain 
If  he  is  pretending,  yes;  right;  but  this  poor  fellow  is  not 
pretending. 

[Enter  Kurano  with  Girl] 
[4771 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

This  is  she.  This  is  she  who  makes  us  mad.  Look  at  her, 
she  has  driven  me  mad;  it  is  in  her  eyes.  It  is  bad  when  we 
are  young,  for  then  they  smile,  and  we  tear  at  the  world's 
throat,  and  throw  ourselves  away,  and  all  they  want  is  vanity. 
If  mirrors  could  speak,  men  would  never  be  troubled  by  them. 
Look  at  her.  All  this  beautiful  bait  to  catch  the  little  foolish 
fish  in  man. 

It  is  beautiful,  those  eyes  and  the  mouth,  and  all  the  curves, 
and  the  ears  and  the  pretty  teeth.  Men  have  thought  of  these 
things  going  to  death;  thought  of  them  with  prayers.  [To 
Captain.]  Look  at  her.  Is  not  she  a  beautiful  thing?  You've 
prayed  to  this  in  your  time. 

Captain 
Ay,  in  my  time. 

Kurano 
And  you? 

Sagisaka 
Kurano,  leave  off  pretending  that  you  are  mad  and  listen  to 
what  I  have  to  say  to  you. 

Kurano 
Do  you  believe  in  the  gods  ? 

Sagisaka 
I  am  not  deceived,  Kurano. 

Kurano 
If  you  believe  in  the  gods  you  should  be  thankful. 

Sagisaka 
Give  heed,  Captain.    Why? 

[478] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

Because  your  mother  played  false  with  a  millstone. 

Captain 
What  makes  you  think  that? 

Kurano 
It  may  have  been  flints;  but  it  was  something  hard;  and  so 
you  were  spared  feelings.  You  were  never  driven  mad  by  one 
of  these  things.  You  never  will  be;  this  does  not  stir  you.  Be 
glad;  they  are  fatal  things.  When  we  grow  up  they  twine 
round  us  and  fawn  and  purr  and  clog  us  to  a  standstill.  They 
call  themselves  our  mates.  O  heaven!  that  a  thing  so  empty 
should  have  such  power  upon  men.  Do  you  see  this  head,  how 
beautiful  it  is?  Is  not  it  wonderful,  poised  on  the  throat  like 
that?  Look  how  the  flesh  dimples,  and  then  these  shadows, 
and  the  red  lips  that  the  worm  will  eat,  and  these  eyes  that 
glitter  so  and  tell  her  brain  about  us.  Did  you  ever  cut  open 
such  a  head? 

Sagisaka 
No;  did  you? 

Kurano 
With  my  mind.     There  was  nothing  there.     I  was  puzzled 
at  that. 

Sagisaka 
Captain. 

Captain 
Do  you  know  where  you  are,  Kurano? 

Kurano 
Yes.    At  a  very  interesting  point.    I  was  saying  that  I  was 

[479] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

puzzled.  Then  I  saw  that  these  things  are  parasites,  who  suck 
their  lives  from  ours.  Our  life  gives  them  life.  Our  imagina- 
tions give  them  a  mind,  they  have  none  of  themselves.  There 
is  nothing  in  them.  They  are  only  shells  and  coffins  where  we 
bury  our  best  thoughts.  They  turn  them  to  dust  and  give 
back  nothing.  Why  should  we  deceive  ourselves  about  them? 
Can  you  tell  me  why  ? 

Captain 
It  would  take  a  wiser  man  than  me  to  answer  that. 

Kurano 
Yet  you  and  that  fellow  there  rule  the  world. 

Sagisaka 
We  will  not  wait  for  any  more,  Captain;  this  is  not  madness. 

Captain 
It  is  an  odd  kind  of  talk. 

Sagisaka 
Kill  him  when  he  comes  back  to  us.     I  will  keep  his  attention. 

Captain 
It  is  not  like  mad  to  me,  it  is  more  like  one  of  these  frenzies. 

Sagisaka 
Well,  end  it.    Kill  him. 

Captain 
I  have  half  a  mind.     Kurano;  do  you  see  the  house  on  fire? 

Kurano 
Do  not.    Do  not.    You  are  always  interrupting.    I  am  going 
to  sing  to  you. 

[480] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Once,  very  long  ago, 

When  there  was  still  the  sun, 

Before  these  times,  before 

The  light  was  darkened, 

One  whom  we  used  to  know 

Made  life  most  noble;  one 

Who  would  have  changed  the  world 

Had  people  hearkened. 

It  was  a  dream.     Perhaps 

Time  drugs  the  soul  with  dreams 

To  all  but  blind  desire 

For  high  attempt; 

Then  the  intense  string  snaps; 

The  project  seems 

A  hearth  without  a  fire; 

A  madness  dreamt. 

Sagisaka 
I  think  that  decides  it.    Now,  Captain. 

Kurano 
[To  Sagisaka.]  What  can  it  decide?  Do  you  think  I  blame 
you  ?  You  are  stupid,  you  are  vulgar,  you  play  into  life's  hands. 
It  is  life  that  I  blame,  life  is  the  enemy — life,  who  takes  my 
friend  and  leaves  you,  the  usurer,  and  you,  the  bully,  and  you, 
the  doll.  Come  on  then,  for  I  will  fight  with  life  till  I  drag  him 
from  behind  his  veil.  He  is  behind  you  and  behind  you  and 
behind  you  and  I  will  have  him  from  his  hiding-place.  No, 
you  shall  not  escape.  I  will  have  you.  Out  of  my  way.  And 
you,  the  doll,  the  clog,  to  be  left  when  my  friend  is  taken.  .  .  . 
[He  beats  them  with  a  cloak.]    No.    No.    Forgive  me.    I  am  not 

[481] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

settled  in  my  wits.  You  had  better  give  me  wine.  For  I'm 
going  to  law,  and  must  have  my  wits  about  me.  Wine  will 
steady  me.  I  fill  to  you  and  to  you  and  to  you,  and  then  I  fill 
to  myself.    Then  we  will  drink  and  fall  asleep. 

Captain 
There  can  be  no  mistaking  that. 

Sagisaka 
I  was  wrong.    He  is  mad. 

Captain 
A  raving  madman. 

Kurano 
[To  Girl.]    We'll  drink  and  sing: 

Wine  is  a  strong  drink 

Beauty  is  a  stronger 
Grief  makes  a  man  think 

And  makes  the  day  longer. 

So  give  a  man  beauty,  and  give  a  man  wine, 

And  drink  to  your  true  love  while  I  drink  to  mine. 

[Falls  asleep  on  the  ground,  spilling  the  bowl] 

Sagisaka 
[Kicking  him.]    So  much  for  Lord  Kurano. 

Captain 
It  is  a  pity.    There  was  something  in  some  of  what  he  said. 
He  has  been  a  fine  man;  a  soldier  they  said  ? 

Sagisaka 
Yes. 

[482] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Captain 
We  come  to  strange  ruins.     Perhaps  he  would  be  happier  if 
I  were  to  end  him.    Let  sleepers  be;  sleep  is  better  than  nothing. 

[Enter  Kira  with  Harima] 

KlRA 

What  news  of  Kurano  ? 

Sagisaka 
There. 

Harima 
Drunk? 

Sagisaka 

Drunk  and  raving.    His  brain  is  turned. 

Kira 
Turned?    Are  you  sure  he  is  not  pretending? 

Captain 
He  is  not  pretending,  Lord  Kira. 

Sagisaka 
I  suspected  him,  but  this  last  has  convinced  me* 

Kira 
It  falls  out  luckily. 

Sagisaka 
I  was  not  sure  .  .  .  whether  to  kill  him  in  any  case. 

Kira 
No,  no,  no;  nothing  of  the  sort. 

[483] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
He  said  something  of  going  to  law. 

Kira 
Well,  we  must  humour  him.    All  else  goes  well? 

Sagisaka 
All  the  men  of  the  estate  have  scattered;  this  blow  has  de- 
stroyed them. 

Kira 
A  higher  power  has  been  in  this.    It  is  a  mercy  from  above. 

Harima 
True. 

Kira 
Come,   we  will   celebrate  this   happy   day   fittingly;  mean- 
while let  us  give  thanks  at  the  temple. 

[Exeunt  Kira,  Sagisaka,  Captain] 

Harima 
[Lingering.]     Sot  and  coward!     Beast.     You  called  yourself 
Asano's  friend.     Pah,  you  drunkard.     May  your  own  friends 
let  you  die  so. 

[Kicks  him  and  exit.     A  moment  passes;  a  distant  bell  strikes^ 

KURANO 

[Rises.]  So  there  is  mercy  for  the  madman,  none  for  the 
wise  man,  it  seems.  Now,  you  blind  wolves,  you  shall  see 
whether  I  have  forgotten.    Thus!  thus! 

[He  tears  his  robes  across] 

Curtain 

[484] 


ACT  III 

Scene  I. — The  outer  scene.     The  Herald.     Kurano  in  the 
background. 

The  Herald 
Comrades,  imagine  that  a  year  has  passed. 

Asano's  men  have  not  avenged  their  lord. 
They  have  been  wanderers,  houseless  to  the  blast, 

Keeping  most  bravely  to  their  plighted  word, 
Biding  revenge,  until  the  Courts  declare 
Whether  Asano's  brother  may  be  heir. 

To-day  the  Judge  has  uttered  his  decree 
That  Lord  Asano's  castle  fief  and  lands 

Are  forfeit  to  the  Envoy  and  shall  be 
Given  forever  into  Kira's  hands; 

For  Kira's  plans  have  thrived.    The  Court  intends 

To  crown  him  Duke  before  to-morrow  ends. 

This  news  so  fills  the  Ronin  with  despair 
That  seventy  men  desert  Kurano's  band, 

Making  all  hope  of  vengeance  empty  air; 
Since  the  remainder  cannot  hope  to  stand 

Against  the  thousand  guards  in  Kira's  pay, 

Kurano's  planned  revenge  is  swept  away. 

Here  in  the  snow,  alone  with  cruel  thought, 

He  thinks  of  his  dear  comrade  tricked  to  death, 

Kira  in  pride  and  vengeance  brought  to  naught, 
And  justice  by  decree  made  empty  breath. 

[485! 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Friendship  and  justice,  hate  and  vengeance  fail; 
Nothing  remains,  but  love  that  cannot  quail. 

His  son  is  coming,  bringing  bitter  news; 
Life  has  no  pity  on  the  men  who  lose. 

[Exit  Herald] 

[Enter  Chikara] 

KURANO 

Chikara,  is  that  you?    Come,  boy,  I  have  news  to  tell  you. 
We  have  lost  the  suit  of  the  inheritance. 

Chikara 
I  expected  that,  father.    Kira  is  the  law  here  now. 

Kurano 
Yes,  he  is.  .  .  .     But  you  are  shaking;  what  makes  you  so 
white,  boy? 

Chikara 

Nothing,  father.     Have  you  had  good  sales  to-day,  father? 

Kurano 
No,  boy;  none  yet. 

Chikara 

Are  you  selling  toys  to-day,  father? 

Kurano 
Not  toys,  dear  lad;  toys  are  luxuries.     I  sell  vanities;  they 
are  necessaries.    But  you  tremble  like  a  leaf.  .  .  .    What  is  it? 

Chikara 
It  must  be  the  cold,  father. 

[486I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Kurano 
You  must  have  my  old  cloak,  Chikara. 

Chikara 
Then  you'll  be  cold. 

Kurano 
No,  I  am  too  hot.    I  have  been  excited.    Let  me  put  it  well 
round  you. 

Chikara 
Thank  you,  father.    What  has  made  you  excited  ? 

Kurano 
Thoughts. 

Chikara 
Were  you  thinking  what  night  it  is,  father? 

Kurano 
No,  boy.    What  night  is  it  ? 

Chikara 
It  is  a  year  to-night  since  we  left  home.    The  men  are  meeting 
to-night.    They  mean  to  keep  the  year.    Will  you  go,  father? 

Kurano 
No,  boy,  I  do  not  think  to  go. 

Chikara 
How  strangely  you  answer,  father. 

Kurano 
Do  I  ?    Well  .  .  .  my  thoughts  are  strange. 

U*7] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Chikara 
Father,  may  I  say  something? 

Kurano 
Yes,  boy. 

Chikara 

Will  you  give  up  the  drinking  and  singing? 

Kurano 
Why,  boy? 

Chikara 

Father,  it  cuts  me  to  the  quick  to  hear  the  men  about  you; 
they  say  you  have  forgotten  our  master. 

Kurano 
I  have  not  done  that,  Chikara. 

Chikara 
I  am  sorry,  father.     Father. 

Kurano 
Yes? 

Chikara 

If  Kira  were  to  die,  from  some  illness,  should  we  all  go  back 
home  and  be  knights,  as  we  were  before  ? 

Kurano 
If  he  were  to  die,  boy;  have  you  heard  that  he  is  ill? 

Chikara 
One  hears  all  sorts  of  things,  father,  and  fears  all  sorts  of 
things. 

[488] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KURANO 

Kira  is  cunning;  he  would  like  us  to  fear  all  sorts  of  things. 
But  what  is  the  matter,  dear  lad  ?  Your  brow  is  burning.  You 
are  ill  ? 

Chikara 

I  am  not,  father.  I  was  only  thinking,  that  if  he  were  to  fall 
ill  and  die,  it  would  be  a  bad  thing. 

Kurano 
Yes;  that  would  be  a  bad  thing. 

Chikara 
I  think  it  would  be  terrible,  father.       [He  breaks  down.] 

Kurano 
Ah,  boy,  this  is  the  world  we  used  to  read  of  together. 

Chikara 
Have  you  heard  about  mother,  father? 

Kurano 
No,  boy;  never  since. 

Chikara 
Father,  I  would  give  anything  that  you  had  not  sent  her 
away. 

Kurano 

My  lad,  we  are  not  like  other  people,  who  can  enjoy  them- 
selves.   We  were  born  knights,  with  duties. 

Chikara 
You  know  she  has  killed  herself.     She  said  there  was  a  wo- 
man's way  of  being  faithful.    She  would  not  keep  you  back? 

[489] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

No,  boy.    She  would  not  keep  me  back.    She  would  not  keep 
you  back.    So,  she  is  dead.    Chikara,  my  boy. 

Chikara 
Yes,  father? 

Kurano 
Once  a  woman  of  our  ancestors  was  defending  a  doorway 
with  her  husband  against  the  enemy.  She  was  shot  in  the 
breast  with  an  arrow.  She  cried  to  her  husband,  "Never  mind 
me.  But  use  my  body  as  a  shield  and  keep  the  door."  So  he 
did. 

Chikara 
Was  she  killed,  father? 

Kurano 
As  far  as  such  souls  die  she  died. 

Chikara 
You  never  told  me  that  tale  before,  father. 

Kurano 
No,  we  told  gentle  tales,  in  the  evening  bell-time.    Did  I  ever 
tell  you  of  Choryo? 

Chikara 
No,  father.    Who  was  he  ? 

Kurano 
A  knight  like  us,  lad.    A  lord  killed  Choryo's  friend;  it  was 
Choryo's  duty  to  avenge  him.     But  the  lord  camped  with  his 
army,  with  soldiers  all  about  him.    Chotyo  was  alone,  but  for 
his  son. 

[490I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Chikara 
Did  they  do  anything,  father? 

Kurang 
They  crept  into  the  lord's  camp  at  night,  right  up  to  his  tent, 
through  all  the  guards. 

Chikara 
Did  they  kill  him  ? 

Kurano 
No,  boy,  they  were  caught,  and  put  to  death,  like  thieves. 

Chikara 

0  father! 

Kurano 
That  is  why  they  are  remembered,  perhaps.     They  are  in 
the  stories. 

Chikara 

1  believe  you  are  making  up  these  tales,  father. 

Kurano 

I've  been  thinking  in  these  last  hours,  boy.  The  world  talks 
much  about  brotherhood;  it  is  nothing  to  fatherhood.  It  is 
a  proud  thing  to  be  a  knight,  and  to  have  my  son  beside  me. 

Are  not  you  very  proud  to  wear  a  sword,  Chikara  ? 

Chikara 
Yes,  father. 

Kurano 
All  the  evil  in  the  world  is  at  the  mercy  of  a  sword. 

Chikara 
Why  do  they  let  Kira  wear  a  sword,  father? 

[491] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

Evil  can  be  very  strong  when  knights  forget  their  oaths. 
Kira  is  to  be  made  Duke  to-morrow,  and  to  have  our  lord's 
estates. 

Chikara 

Are  we  going  to  kill  him  then,  father? 

Kurano 
No,  boy;  I  am  afraid  not. 

Chikara 
Father,  dear. 

Kurano 
Yes,  my  dear  lad. 

Chikara 
The  men  say  a  terrible  thing  about  you. 

Kurano 
What? 

Chikara 

That  you  care  for  the  drink  more  than  for  fighting  Kira. 

Kurano 
Yes;  they  may  say  that.    Do  you  think  that? 

Chikara 
No,  father. 

Kurano 
Ah,  lad,  Pve  been  trying  to  blind  Kira.     The  drink  was 
nothing  but  a  blind. 

Chikara 
You  have  blinded  the  men,  father. 

[492] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KURANO 

Does  it  make  any  difference? 

Chikara 
It  makes  all  the  difference. 

Kurano 
You  are  wrong,  boy. 

Chikara 
If  I  am  wrong,  will  you  meet  them  to-night  and  tell  them? 

Kurano 
How  your  voice  rings,  lad,  and  only  last  year  you  were  play- 
ing at  school.    Do  you  remember? 

Chikara 
Yes,  with  old  Daigaku. 

Kurano 
Now  you  are  alone  with  me. 

Listen,  Chikara,  there  has  been  a  break  in  the  League;  over 
seventy  have  left  us.    It  is  all  over  with  the  League. 

Chikara 
Yes,  father. 

Kurano 
I  cannot  trust  the  others  now.    Our  duty  rests  on  us  two. 
Do  you  understand  ? 

Chikara 
It  is  on  us  two,  father. 

Kurano 
We  must  take  desperate  risks,  like  Choryo.    Will  you  come, 
now? 

[493 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Chikara 
Where  to,  father? 

Kurano 
To  Kira's  palace. 

Chikara 
Yes,  father. 

Kurano 
There  will  be  many  workmen  about,  getting  ready  for  to- 
morrow, perhaps  we  shall  be  able  to  get  in.    Do  you  know  Kira? 

Chikara 
No,  father. 

Kurano 
He  is  a  tall  man,  very  noble-looking,  with  grey  hair.    He  is 
restless  and  has  quick  eyes  and  a  great  voice.    He  is  very  glori- 
ous in  his  dress.    But  you  will  know  him  by  one  thing;  he  com- 
mands. 

Chikara 
Yes,  father. 

Kurano 
If  we  get  in,  perhaps  we  shall  only  see,  only  spy  out  the  land, 
see  the  guards. 

Chikara 
Yes,  father. 

Kurano 
But  Kira  walks  sometimes  in  the  courtyard. 

Chikara 
Yes,  father 

Kurano 
There  is  a  kind  of  god,  boy. 

[494] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Chikara 
Yes,  father. 

Kurano 
If  we  see  Kira,  if  we  get  near  him,  keep  my  left  side  and  back. 

Chikara 
I  will,  father,  while  I  live. 

Kurano 
You  are  like  your  mother,  boy.    She  was  a  very  noble  woman, 
Chikara.     She  told  me  strange  things,  once,  long  ago.     Come, 
now. 

Sing  as  we  go,  lad. 

Chikara 
Sometimes,  when  guests  have  gone,  the  host  remembers 

Sweet  courteous  things  unsaid. 
We  two  have  talked  our  hearts  out  to  the  embers, 
And  now  go  hand  in  hand,  down  to  the  dead. 

Curtain 


[Scene  II. — The  Ronin  grouped  in  the  dark  in  the  snow,  moan- 
ing to  themselves. 

First  Ronin 
Has  Lord  Kurano  come  ? 

Second  Ronin 
No. 

First  Ronin 
Are  all  the  others  here? 

[495  1 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Second  Ronin 
All  who  are  coming. 

First  Ronin 
Friends. 

Second  and  Third  Ronin 

Let  our  friend  speak. 

First  Ronin 
Asano's  men. 

Fourth  and  Fifth  Ronin 
Quiet!    Quiet! 

First  Ronin 
This  is  the  last  meeting  of  our  League.    Our  brotherhood  of 
misery  comes  to  an  end.     [A  moan  passes  over  the  crowd.] 

We  have  starved  and  wandered  as  Kurano  bade.  Each  in 
his  way  we  have  all  prepared  for  an  attack  on  Kira,  but  to- 
day, as  you  know,  three-fifths  of  our  men  have  left  us;  all 
hope  of  revenge  is  gone.  Our  share  in  the  preparations  was  to 
supply  swords.  Here  they  are,  all  that  we  have.  We  starved 
and  begged  and  dug  in  the  fields  to  buy  them.  We  shall  not 
want  them  now.    So  .  .  .  let  them  lie.    [Flings  them  down.] 

Second  Ronin 
I  and  my  fellows  had  an  easier  task.    We  had  only  to  spy  on 
Kira.    We  know  Kira's  palace  as  we  knew  ours.    These  plans 
are  our  share.     But  we  shall  not  want  them  now.     Lie  there 
with  the  swords.    [Flings  them  down.] 

Third  Ronin 
It  was  our  task  to  supply  armour.    This  is  what  we  made. 
We  made  it,  after  work,  in  the  fields,  in  the  cold  nights,  out  of 
whatever  we  could  get,  broken  metal  and  leather;  rusty  with 

[496] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

the  snow,  too.    Since  it  will  not  be  used,  no  matter.    Ground 
arms,  with  the  rest. 

Fourth  Ronin 
Our  band  swore  to  get  hooks  and  ladders  in  case  we  should 
scale  Kira's  palace.     Here  they  are;  the  best  we  could  get. 
Heap  them  down.    We  shall  never  climb  by  them. 

Fifth  Ronin 
I  and  my  fellows  made  these  lanterns  in  case  we  should  make 
a  night  attack.    They  will  not  light  us  to  any  revenge.    They 
may  lie  dark.    [Flings  them  down.} 

First  Ronin 
We  have  been  a  year  in  the  rice  plots,  as  farmers'  men. 

Second  Ronin 
We  have  been  joiners  and  beggars  and  fruit-sellers. 

Third  Ronin 
We  have  been  wanderers,  glad  of  broken  meats  at  the  door. 

Fourth  Ronin 
We  have  been  fishermen  at  sea. 

Fifth  Ronin 
We  have  been  dogs  in  the  kennels,  outcasts. 

First  Ronin 
And  whatever  we  have  been,  these  things  were  made  at  the 
risk  of  our  lives,  when  it  was  death  by  decree  to  plot  revenge  or 
speak  revenge. 

[497] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Second  Ronin 
We  might  have  spared  ourselves  the  pain. 

First  Ronin 
Not  ourselves.     Our  wives  and  children  might  have  been 
spared.     My  wife  came  to  me,  she  had  stabbed  herself  in  the 
breast.     She  said:  "You  are  a  knight.    You  must  avenge  your 
lord,  not  think  of  women." 

Her  beauty  died  there. 

My  guest  went  from  my  fireside. 

Our  talk,  our  friendship, 

Broken,  unfinished, 

The  best  things  unsaid. 

Second  Ronin 
I  had  no  wife.    I  was  to  have  been  married  before  the  ruin. 
But  I  had  to  think  of  my  lord,  not  of  marriage.     I  never  saw 
her  again.     The  girl  has  gone  now,  ruined,  too;  and  whether 
she  is  dead  or  in  a  teahouse  I  shall  never  know. 

Third  Ronin 
I  had  no  wife,  nor  lover,  I  am  a  widower.  I  had  a  little  son. 
They  told  me  he  was  lying  on  the  flowers.  I  brought  him  in  to 
the  shed  where  we  lived,  we  had  no  proper  home.  He  had 
killed  himself  that  I  might  be  free  to  kill  Kira.  His  little  hands 
were  clenched  on  the  dirk. 

Fourth  Ronin 
My  father  and  mother  had  a  right  to  peace,  after  eighty 
years.    But  they  were  afraid  that  they  might  be  a  burden  on 

[498] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

me,  while  I  had  my  duty  to  my  lord  to  do.    They  killed  them- 
selves. 
And  all  these  lives  go  for  nothing. 

Fifth  Ronin 
Those  losses  were  beautiful,  you  can  be  proud  of  them.    Kira 
brought  other  losses  on  me.     I  saw  my  children  starved  to 
death. 

We  lay  on  the  reeds 

In  the  marshy  places. 

They  cried  for  food, 

For  the  sweet  cakes  of  old. 

"Father,  father, 

I  am  so  hungry! 

May  I  have  a  rice-cake? 

I  have  had  no  rice-cake 

All  to-day." 

All  around 

Were  the  marshy  places. 
They  cried  for  food, 
Those  sons  of  mine. 
"Father,"  they  said, 
"Will  it  soon  be  food-time? 
Can  you  feed  us,  father?" 
I  told  them,  "No." 
And  then  they  cried. 

Kira  it  was, 
The  great  Lord  Kira, 
Who  burnt  our  home 
And  drove  us  forth. 
[499] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

It  was  his  deed 

That  starved  my  children, 

My  little  sons 

In  the  wild  swan's  lair. 

We  cannot  kill  him, 
We  cannot  harm  him, 
We  cannot  rob  him 
Of  a  moment's  pleasure, 
The  unatoned  blood 
Cries  unheeded. 
We  are  poor  men 
Lost  in  the  snow. 

First  Ronin 
That  is  a  true  song,  brother;  we  are  lost  indeed. 

Second  Ronin 
Kira  triumphs. 

Fifth  Ronin 
He  drinks  with  his  dancing  women,  he  is  made  Duke. 

Third  Ronin 
He  will  be  harsher  to  us  now. 

Fourth  Ronin 
I  thought  the  gods  checked  pride,  but  evil  like  Kira's  checks 
the  gods. 

First  Ronin 

Since  all  is  useless,  we  will  burn  these  things  and  dissolve  the 
League. 

[500I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Second  Ronin 
There  is  nothing  else  that  we  can  do. 

Third  Ronin 
Heap  them  together. 

Fourth  Ronin 
Pour  the  oil  upon  them. 

Fifth  Ronin 
These  were  the  deserters'  banners;  they  had  better  burn. 

First  Ronin 
So,  pile  them,  and  good-bye  to  revenge.    Would  the  deserters 
were  burning  with  them! 

Voices 
Burn,  with  our  hopes,  to  ashes,  all  is  past, 
The  waiting  in  the  snow, 
The  year-long  pain, 

The  faith  that  equal  justice  falls  at  last. 
We  may  depart,  but  not  with  hope  again. 
So  burn,  so  perish,  as  the  fire  drives, 
Our  hope,  our  love,  our  service,  all  our  lives. 

[Enter  Kurano  and  Chikara] 

Voices 
You  come  too  late,  Lord  Kurano;  you  should  have  come  be- 
fore, we  are  disbanded. 

Kurano 
Not  yet,  not  for  a  moment.    There  are  things  I  wish  to  say 
to  you.    Tread  out  the  fire.    Come  nearer. 

[Soil 


THE  FAITHFUL 

First  Ronin 
What  have  you  to  say  to  us,  Lord  Kurano? 

Second  Ronin 
You  can  say  nothing,  but  that  we  are  ruined  while  Kira  is 
triumphant. 

Kurano 
I  have  just  come  from  Kira's  palace. 

Third  Ronin 
What  did  you  see  there  ? 

Kurano 
Preparations  for  to-morrow;  a  muster  of  the  guards. 

First  Ronin 


What  then? 
Kira  came  out. 
Ah!  the  accursed! 


Kurano 
Voices 


Kurano 
He  had  gifts  for  the  guards  for  guarding  him.    This  was  in 
the  courtyard.     I  was  watching  through  the  gates.    The  gates 
have  been  gilded  for  to-morrow,  they  are  like  gold.    There  were 
a  thousand  guards,  in  armour. 

Voices 
We  know  their  strength,  too  well. 

Kurano 
I  had  not  seen  them  march  before.    They  marched  past  Kira 
to  salute,  till  the  courtyard  shook.    They  sang,  too,  rank  after 
rank,  a  song  in  praise  of  Kira.    "Aha,  Aha,  Kira."    They  came 
staright  towards  me;  the  dust  in  the  court  was  like  smoke. 

[502] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

They  came  straight  to  the  gates.  The  gates  were  opened 
and  they  came  through,  horsemen  and  swordsmen,  with  fifes 
and  banners.  They  still  sang  to  Kira:  "Bow  down  to  Kira,  to 
Kira  the  Duke."  There  were  ten  picked  companies  marching 
there.  They  thought  I  was  a  beggar  at  the  gate,  they  flung 
money  to  me.  They  all  came  glittering  out,  singing  their  song 
about  Kira  in  his  glory. 

When  they  had  all  come  out,  the  gates  were  closed,  and  pres- 
ently a  little  old  man  came  out  and  locked  them  and  a  boy 
brought  rice  and  flung  it  to  the  pigeons,  and  then  it  was  sun- 
set, and  the  gilders  packed  their  tools  and  went  home,  and 
twilight  came  and  a  star,  and  they  brought  lanterns  then  and 
hung  them  in  the  courtyard  so  that  one  saw  shadows,  and  they 
lit  the  cresset  on  the  gate  so  that  it  was  all  wavering  light. 

Presently  it  began  to  snow,  and  the  snow  came  down  and 
down,  but  I  stayed  on  by  the  gate  in  a  kind  of  dream,  for  things 
came  into  my  head  about  my  friend,  my  friend  Asano.  He  came 
into  me  here  next  my  heart,  talking  to  me.  "Kurano,  Kurano, 
and  all  my  men  of  old  time,  fellowship  goes  on  after  death, 
dear  brothers,  in  its  struggle  against  wrong." 

And  I  fell  into  a  kind  of  dream  about  the  Envoy,  who  is  to 
make  Kira  Duke,  being  the  man  who  condemned  Asano  a  year 
ago;  and  I  thought,  "Yes,  the  Envoy  is  coming,  and  the  palace 
is  a  sacred  place  and  so  Kira  has  dismissed  his  guards." 

Yells 
What?    What? 

Kurano 

He  has  dismissed  them  till  to-morrow,  and  on  this  snowy 
night,  he'll  be  unprepared,  and 
We  can  attack  him  if  you  will. 

[503] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Voices 
Free?    Free  to  attack  him?    The  guards  are  gone.    We  can 
attack  him. 

Kurano 
Yes,  if  you  will.    Will  you  ? 

Voices 
Very  well;  we  will;  to-night. 

Kurano 
Let  us  arm,  then.    Chikara,  boy,  we  are  going  to  die  in  a  few 
hours.     They  are  excited  now,  and  will  be,  for  a  time,  but  it 
may  pass.    I  look  to  you  to  help  me  to  keep  them  thus. 

Chikara 
Very  well,  father. 

The  Ronin 
We  are  ready,  Master  Kurano. 

Kurano 
Now  we  will  cast  off  our  rags  for  death,  and  say  our  death- 
poems.    This  is  the  knife  that  killed  our  Master  Asano.     Let 
us  consecrate  ourselves  to  the  washing  of  the  blood  away. 

Chikara 
I  am  the  youngest,  I  will  say  my  death-poem  first:  "Life  is 
a  banquet  spread,  but  I  cannot  stay  for  the  feast." 

First  Ronin 
I  will  say  mine:  "To-morrow  I  shall  be  under  the  grass,  but 
to-night  I  am  a  man  and  on  to-morrow's  morrow  men  shall 
talk  of  me." 

[504] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Second  Ronin 
I  will  say  mine:  "Young  men  often  die  for  old  men,  it  is  the 
way  of  the  world.    I  am  an  old  man  dying  with  young  men  in 
the  young  man's  cause,  and  I  am  happy." 

Third  Ronin 
I  will  say  mine : 

"We  are  outlaws,  going  to  die  like  outlaws. 
"The  flowers  from  our  bones  will  be  better  laws." 

Fourth  Ronin 
I  will  say  mine:  "Brave  men  going  to  battle  for  our  land 
will  stop  to  lay  flowers  upon  our  graves." 

Kurano 
I  will  say  mine:  "Evil  is  very  strong,  but  men  who  will  give 
their  lives  are  stronger." 
Let  us  go  out  into  the  night. 

First  Ronin 
We  should  have  a  banner,  master. 

Kurano 
[Raising   the   dagger.]      This   is   our   banner.      Play   music. 
March! 

[They  go  out  to  a  droning  oboe  and  the  slow  tapping  of  a  drum. 
They  begin  a  pcean\ 

Curtain 


Isosl 


THE  FAITHFUL 
Scene  III. — The  inner  scene.    Kira's  palace.    Sagisaka.    Kira. 

Sagisaka 
Will  you  not  rest,  my  lord?    To-morrow's  ritual  will  be  long; 
you  will  be  fatigued. 

Kira 
Honours   do  not   fatigue.     About  those  tenants  near  the 
stream.     See  them  all  turned  out  to-morrow,  and  their  houses 
pulled  down.    I  mean  to  dam  the  river  there  and  make  a  fish- 
pond. 

Sagisaka 
If  you  made  the  fish-pond  above,  my  lord,  or  shut  them  from 
the  sea  below  .  .  .  they  would  be  forced  out,  without  your 
sending  a  man. 

Kira 
That  may  have  served  in  the  old  days.    I  am  strong  enough 
now  for  directer  methods.    Have  you  had  any  news  of  Kurano 
since  his  suits  were  heard  ? 

Sagisaka 
He  has  flung  away  his  swords.    He  goes  in  rags  like  a  beggar, 
they  say;  drunk  in  the  kennel  half  his  time;  mad  the  rest. 

Kira 
Ah!    My  plan  throve,  you  see.    Asano's  men  have  quarrelled. 
Their  quarrelling  so  soon  perhaps  seems  suspicious? 

Sagisaka 
I  doubt  their  love  for  Asano;  men  hate  philanthropists. 

Kira 
It  might  have  been  better  to  have  watched  them  more  closely. 

[506] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
People  so  broken  as  Asano's  will  not  be  able  to  do  much. 

Kira 
I  wonder  if  we  were  wise  to  dismiss  the  guards. 

Sagisaka 
We  should  hear  in  time  if  there  were  any  movement.    We 
could  recall  the  guards.    They  are  only  half  a  march  away. 

Kira 
True.    Still.  ...    It  might  be  better. 

Sagisaka 
I  will  write  the  order  for  them  to  return. 

Kira 
Give  me  some  wine,   Sagisaka.     [Drinks.]     I  will  have  up 
that  woman  from  the  village,  the  pretty  one. 

Sagisaka 
[Writing.]    The  one  you  saw  this  morning? 

Kira 
The  one  with  the  broad  brow. 

Sagisaka 
You  have  an  eye  for  them,  my  lord. 

Kira 
She  is  here,  I  suppose? 

[507! 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
I  will  send  her. 

Kira 
What  is  this? 

Sagisaka 
The  order  for  the  guards;  if  you  will  sign  it  I  will  send  a 
rider  with  it. 

Kira 
Now?    It  must  be  midnight.    Whom  would  you  send ? 

Sagisaka 
A  groom  will  take  it. 

Kira 
It  is  a  bitter  night;  still  snowing.    Do  you  know  if  the  horses 
have  been  roughed? 

Sagisaka 
They  were  going  to  rough  them  to-morrow  if  the  frost  held. 

Kira 
Send  me  the  stableman  to-morrow;  the  fool  should  have 
roughed  them  to-day. 

Sagisaka 
We  could  rough  one  now  if  you  would  like  the  letter  sent. 

Kira 
It  is  spoiling  six  men's  sleep  for  the  sake  of  one  man's  folly. 
I  will  cast  that  man,  and  promote  the  other,  the  horse-breaker. 

Sagisaka 
Very  well,  my  lord. 

[508  J 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KlRA 

What  are  the  women  like,  down  at  the  fishery? 

Sagisaka 
There's  a  girl  I  would  like  you  to  see. 

Kira 

A  girl,  eh? 

Sagisaka 

She's  a  bright  little  thing. 

Kira 
I  would  like  to  see  her  to-night. 

Sagisaka 
She  cannot  be  here  till  to-morrow. 

Kira 
I  will  have  the  other  then,  for  now. 

Sagisaka 

Here  are  the  sweetmeats. 

Kira 

Thank  you,  Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 

I  will  tell  the  women  to  send  her  up. 

Kira 
Yes.    Good-night,  Sagisaka.    Oh,  Sagisaka. 

Sagisaka 
My  lord  ? 

[509! 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KlRA 

Take  notes  of  this,  please. 

Sagisaka 
Certainly,  Lord  Kira. 

Kira 
To-morrow,  before  everything,  send  out  two  whom  you  can 
trust  to  find  out  about  Asano's  men,  what  they  are  doing  and 
what  parties  they  are  in. 

Sagisaka 
I  will  see  to  it  myself.    Is  there  anything  else? 

Kira 
We  do  not  renew  Nekko's  bond. 

Sagisaka 
He  is  counting  on  us. 

Kira 
I  cannot  renew;  the  man's  a  fool.    There  was  another  thing 
...  it  has  slipped  my  mind.  .  .  .    Oh,  about  Kurano. 

Sagisaka 
Yes,  Lord  Kira? 

Kira 
We  will  have  him  here,  where  he  can  live  with  some  dignity; 
after  all  the  man  is  a  gentleman,  nobly  born.    I  do  not  like  to 
think  of  him  as  he  is. 

Sagisaka 
It  shall  be  done,  my  lord. 

Kira 
You  disapprove? 

[510I 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
No,  my  lord.    What  was  that  ? 

Kira 
What? 

Sagisaka 

I  thought  I  heard  a  tapping. 

Kira 
It  was  the  snow.    That  window  often  rattles  in  bad  weather. 

Sagisaka 
It  sounded  more  like  a  branch. 

Kira 
The   yellow   plum-tree,    no   doubt;  it   needs   cutting   back. 
[Drinks.]     Do  not  send  the  girl  yet.     I  want  to  finish  that 
problem  of  chess.    [He  takes  chessmen.] 

Sagisaka 
Very  well,  my  lord.    I  will  go,  then. 

Kira 
Good-night,   Sagisaka.     Open  the  window,  as  you  go,  the 
room's  too  hot.    Is  it  still  snowing? 

Sagisaka 
A  little.    The  moon's  up.     I'll  leave  the  window.     [Passing 
Kira.]    I  believe  you  should  move  the  knight,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Nonsense,  Sagisaka;  look  where  the  castle  is. 

[511] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Sagisaka 
Well,  good-night,  my  lord. 

Kira 

Good-night.    [Sagisaka  goes  and  re-enters.]    Well  ? 

Sagisaka 
Shall  I  send  that  order  to  the  guards? 

Kira 
To-morrow  will  do. 

Sagisaka 
It  shall  go  at  sunrise. 

Kira 
Are  you  anxious?    Do  you  feel  that  the  guards  ought  to  be 
here? 

Sagisaka 
One  feels  safer  with  them. 

Kira 
Ah,  we  are  safe. 

Sagisaka 
I  hope  so,  my  lord. 

Kira 
I  know  so.    What  is  to  hurt  us? 

Sagisaka 
I  don't  know,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Nor  I. 

Sagisaka 
I  am  sorry  to  have  disturbed  you,  my  lord. 

[512] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KlRA 
Wait.    Is  my  servant  outside? 

Sagisaka 
He  is  just  outside  the  door. 

Kira 
He  will  call  when  I  am  ready.  Go  to  rest  now;  we  shall 
have  a  hard  day  to-morrow.  [Exit  Sagisaka.]  [To  himself.] 
If  I  move  the  knight,  the  castle  takes  it.  What  other  move 
can  the  knight  have?  Not  there.  There.  No.  The  king  must 
move.     [A  packet  is  thrown  in.]    [Quoting.] 

"Earth  to  the  king  is  but  a  chessboard  laid, 
With  men  and  women  waiting  to  be  played." 

[A  tapping.]  What  is  that?  [Goes  to  window.]  It  rattles,  yet 
the  wind  has  fallen.  [Returning.]  What  is  this?  [Picks  up 
packet.]  Did  Sagisaka  drop  this?  Was  it  thrown  in?  I  can- 
not read  it  in  this  light.  [Comes  forward  to  read.]  [Reading.] 
"Danger.  Danger.  Danger!"  What  danger?  It  is  another 
of  these  madmen.  Pah !  [Settling  to  his  game.]  Now  if  I  moved 
the  pawn  .  .  .  the  pawn  is  the  key.  .  .  . 


A  Voice 
Kira 
Voice 


Read  it,  Kira. 
What? 

Read  it,  Kira. 

Kira 
Who  said,   "Read   it,   Kira?"  [Crossing  to  window.]     Can 

[Si3l 


THE  FAITHFUL 

any  one  be  in  the  courtyard?    It  is  all  bright  moonlight.    I 
heard  a  voice. 

I  am  sure  I  heard  a  voice.    [Goes  to  door.]    Ono. 

Servant 
Yes,  my  lord  ? 

Kira 
Did  you  hear  a  voice  just  then? 

Servant 
No,  my  lord. 

Kira 
There  was  a  voice  calling  my  name. 

Servant 
I  heard  nothing,  my  lord.    It  has  been  all  quiet  in  the  house. 

Kira 
No  one  has  been  to  the  door? 

Servant 
No  one,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Do  you  see  any  tracks  in  the  snow  there  ? 

Servant 
It  is  all  white,  untrodden  snow,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Send  two  of  the  men  round  with  lanterns  to  make  sure. 

Servant 
Very  good,  my  lord.    Shall  I  bar  the  window,  my  lord  ? 

[5H] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KlRA 

Yes,  close  the  window;  then  go.  [Exit  Servant.]  Strange. 
There  was  a  voice.  I  am  well;  am  I  well?  What  am  I  to 
read?  [Opens  and  reads.]  "You  are  to  be  killed  to-night. 
Hide.  Hide."  I  am  weary  of  these  warnings.  I  will  have 
them  ended.  It  is  strange  that  they  still  come.  To-morrow 
I  will  root  out  those  Asano  people.  [Writes.]  There.  There. 
Then  these  warnings  will  end.  [The  little  god  on  the  bracket  at 
the  back  of  the  stage  falls  and  breaks.]    What  was  that? 

[Ono  enters] 

Ono 

Are  you  hurt,  my  lord  ? 

Kira 
No.    This  fell. 

Ono 
May  the  gods  turn  it  to  our  good.    What  made  it  fall  ? 

Kira 
The  support  was  rotten,  look.    It  is  broken  to  pieces. 

Ono 
May  the  gods  have  pity  on  us! 

Kira 
Why  do  you  say  that?    You  are  trembling. 

Ono 
This  is  the  god  of  this  house  and  it  is  broken. 

Kira 
It  is  a  piece  of  baked  clay  which  fell  on  to  a  piece  of  stone. 

[SiSl 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Ono 
It  is  your  god  and  it  is  broken. 

Kira 
And  what  do  you  think  that  means? 

Ono 

May  the  gods  prevent  it  being  so! 

Kira 
What  does  it  mean? 

Ono 
That  your  luck  is  passing. 

Kira 
So  it  is,  Ono.    Lord  Kira  is  passing.    To-morrow  he  becomes 
Duke   and   Overlord.     To-morrow,   did   I   say?     No,   to-day. 
What  time  is  it? 

Ono 
On  the  stroke  of  twelve,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Did  the  watchmen  find  anything  ? 

Ono 

Nothing,  my  lord,  all  was  quiet,  but  for  one  thing. 

Kira 
What  was  that? 

Ono 
The  dogs  were  howling. 

Kira 
They  were  baying  the  moon. 

[516] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Ono 
No,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Then  it  is  the  frost;  their  drink  is  frozen. 

Ono 
They  were  baying  at  something  in  the  air. 

Kira 
What? 

Ono 

Something  over  the  house;  a  bird  that  was  flying  away. 

Kira 
It  was  an  owl  like  yourself,  Ono.    Take  these  orders.    They 
are  to  be  in  the  Captain's  hands  by  noon  to-morrow.    Is  that 
woman  ready? 

Ono 
Yes,  my  lord. 

Kira 
Go  down  with  those  orders  and  then  send  her  up.  [Exit  Ono.] 
[Picking  up  the  shards.]  You  have  watched  out  your  time.  You 
have  been  with  me  since  the  beginning.  Now  we  shall  have 
a  new  one.  A  famous  artist  will  make  one  all  of  gold,  for  Duke 
Kira.  It  will  watch  me  go  on,  from  power  to  power,  Duke 
Kira,  Prince  Kira. 

Prince  Kira.    [Drinks.]    Why  not  ? 

[The  door  opens  and  a  woman  appears] 

You  are  the  Starblossom  ? 

Woman 
Yes,  lord. 

tsi7 1 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KlRA 

Will  you  not  put  off  that  veil? 

Woman 
No,  lord. 

Kira 
Let  me  help  you. 

Woman 
No. 

Kira 
Do  not  shrink  from  me.     I  hear  you  have  a  very  beautiful 
voice,  a  thrilling  voice.     These  sweetmeats  are  for  the  voice. 
Will  you  not  sing  to  me  ? 

Woman 
I  cannot  sing. 

Kira 
Here  is  the  viol.    I  am  sure  that  you  will  play  to  me. 

Woman 

I  am  terrified,  terrified. 

Kira 

Take  this  viol,  now,  and  let  me  hear  your  voice.  You  will 
spoil  your  singing  if  you  are  terrified.  Look  at  these  pearls, 
every  word  that  you  utter  is  a  pearl;  these  shall  be  yours  for 
one  song.  Your  voice  is  cool  and  white;  it  is  as  beautiful  as 
these  pearls.  There  is  the  hand,  now,  on  the  strings;  a  touch 
and  music  comes.  Sing  me  some  song  that  means  very  much 
to  you,  some  gentle  song  like  your  voice,  a  delicate  song,  like 
a  touch  upon  the  heart.  You  have  suffered,  to  have  such 
a  voice;  you  have  had  a  sorrow. 

Woman 
Yes,  Lord  Kira. 

(Sill 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KlRA 

Sing  to  me  of  that,  if  it  is  not  too  great  a  pain. 

Woman 
Are  you  Lord  Kira  ? 

Kira 
Yes. 

Woman 
They  told  me  you  were  a  devil. 

Kira 
You  see  that  they  were  wrong.     Please  tell  me  of  yourself. 
Sing  me  this  song  of  yourself. 

Woman 
It  is  not  so  very  beautiful;  but  it  is  common  enough. 

Kira 
It  will  be  human,  then,  if  it  is  common. 

Woman 
It  is  human,  if  sorrow  is  human. 

Queens  long  ago 
Knew  sorrowful  days, 
Seeing  their  husbands  killed, 
Their  sons  destroyed. 
Death  makes  the  full  heart  void, 
The  cold  heart  filled, 
Those  women  knew  Death's  ways, 
I  also  know. 

[519] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Father  and  mother  gone, 
He  whom  I  loved,  and  now 
My  sons,  my  lovely  sons, 
My  three  bright  boys 
Killed,  while  the  sunlight  shone, 
And  blossom  filled  the  bough; 
I  was  so  happy  once 
But  Death  destroys. 

Yet,  although  Death  is  great, 
Earth's  many  million  tears 
Move  on  the  heart  of  things 
Quickening  a  change  to  be; 
And  drop  by  drop  the  sea 
Moans  from  its  springs, 
Its  cry  will  reach  God's  ears; 
Man  has  not  long  to  wait. 
Death  is  but  tool  to  Fate. 

The  cup  is  brimmed  in  time  and  then  it  spills  over. 

Kira 
You  are  young  to  have  sorrowed  so. 

Woman 
There  are  younger  ones  who  have  sorrowed  worse.     If  you 
knew  what  goes  on  in  this  land  of  yours,  Lord  Kira. 

Kira 
You  were  beautiful  when  you  said  that. 

Woman 
Was  I? 

[520] 


THE  FAITHFUL 
KlRA 

Very.     Listen,  will  you  tell  me  more,  tell  me  of  what  goes 
on  in  this  land  of  mine? 

Woman 
You  do  not  want  to  hear. 

Kira 
From  you,  I  do.    There  is  another  thing  I  want  to  hear  from 
you.    [The  oboe  and  the  drum  far  off.] 

Woman 
Hark! 

Kira 
You  will  not  put  me  away  like  that,  Starblossom. 

Woman 
There  was  a  noise.    There  it  is  again. 

Kira 
We  will  not  mind  the  noise.     I  want  to  hear  the  music  of 
your  voice,  saying  something. 

Woman 
No,  no,  no! 

Kira 
Say  something  sweet,  Starblossom.  What  a  beautiful  name, 
it  is  beautiful  like  your  voice.  Will  you  say  this  thing,  Star- 
blossom, the  little  sweet  word,  while  I  hold  your  hands  like 
this,  and  look  into  your  beautiful  eyes?  [The  music  loud,  and 
voices.] 

Woman 
What  is  it  that  I  must  say,  Lord  Kira? 

[521] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Kira 
That  you  love  me,  Starblossom.     How  you  tremble,  little 
flower;  how  white  you  are! 

The  Pjean  of  the  Ronin 
The  time  dragged  by  till  our  hearts  were  broken, 

The  time  dragged  by  till  we  cursed  the  sun; 
Now  the  hour  has  struck  and  the  word  is  spoken. 

The  time  is  fallen  and  the  deed  begun. 

Asano.    Asano.  Over  the  wall  with  the  banner. 

Kira 
What  do  they  say? 

Woman 
It  sounds  like  rejoicing. 

Kira 
Ah,  yes.    To-day  I  receive  the  Dukedom. 

Woman 
They  are  coming  to  cheer  you. 

A  Voice 
Kira's  men.    Help  me,  Kira's  men.    Help  me,  Fm  alone. 

A  Voice 
Guard  the  great  gates.    Shoot  at  the  roof. 

Woman 
You  must  show  yourself  to  them. 

Kira 
You  have  not  said  that  you  love  me  yet. 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Woman 
Do  you  want  me  to  ? 

Kira 
Yes,  Starblossom. 

Woman 
You  have  not  shewn  that  you  love  me. 

Kira 
I  will  shew  you,  Starblossom. 

Woman 
[Flinging.]    Fetch  me  my  comb. 

Kira 
These   pearls  will   serve   instead.      [Clasps  pearls   about  her 
throat.}    Now  you  are  prisoner,  beautiful  Starblossom. 

A  Voice 
I  cannot.    Look!    They  are  all  sticking  in  me. 

A  Voice 
0,1  am  killed  .  .  .  killed! 

A  Voice 
Die,  you!    Where  is  he?    [The  Paan  in  snatches.] 

Woman 
Get  away.    Listen!    Oh,  what  was  that? 

Kira 
What!    What  is  this,  then?    [Strikes  gong.] 

Woman 
They  are  fighting. 

[523] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

KlRA 

[Going  to  door.]    Where  is  Ono?    Ono! 

A  Voice 
We  are  coming,  Master  Asano. 

Woman 
It  is  Kurano  and  his  men,  O  God! 

Kira 
Quiet,  woman!    I  must  think. 

[Enter  Sagisaka] 

Sagisaka 
Run,  my  lord.    Get  out  of  the  house.     It  is  Kurano.     Run. 
Go,  man.    They've  surprised  us.     Hide.     Run.     Go,  you  girl. 
Run. 

Kira 
Yes. 
[Drops  his  white  cloak  and  runs  to  the  door  right.    Sagisaka  hides 
behind  the  door.    The  girl  flies  door  left.] 

Sagisaka 
Can  I  get  that  knife  before  they  come  ? 

[Crawls  out,  listens,  and  crawls  back] 

Kurano 
He  cannot  have  escaped. 

Hazama 
I  have  looked.    He  was  not  there. 

[524] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

First  Ronin 
None  of  us  is  much  hurt.    They  made  a  good  stand  in  the 
courtyard. 

Kurano 

Your  cut  about.     Hara.     Bind  his  head,  Kodera.     Come  in 
here.    He  may  be  here.    Come  carefully.    [They  enter.] 

Hazama 
He  is  not  here.    This  is  a  living-room. 

Second  Ronin 
We  have  come  the  wrong  way.    Go  back,  master. 

First  Ronin 
There  is  his  wine.    He  is  not  here.    He  has  got  away. 

Hazama 
I  believe  he  has.    Let  us  waste  no  time  here.    Come,  quickly. 

Kurano 
Wait.    What  is  this  wrapping? 

First  Ronin 
A  cloak.    Some  of  their  clothes. 

Kurano 
It  is  his  cloak.    Look  at  the  purple  edge. 

Hazama 
Master,  we  have  not  searched  the  stables.     He  may  have 
taken  horse  by  this.    Run,  you. 

[525] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

Kurano 
Wait.     This  cloak  is  warm.     He  must  be  near.     He  must 
have  been  here  within  the  minute.     Come.    We'll  search  this 
way. 

Sagisaka 
[Springing  out.]    Not  yet.    [He  sends  Chikara  reeling.] 

Hazama 
Ah,  cockerel.    [Stabs  him.    The  others  go  past.] 

Sagisaka 
I  have  got  .  .  .  one  of  you.     [Falls.]     Tell  the  trumpeter 
.  .  .  tell  the  trumpeter  .  .  .  tell  the  trumpeter  ...  to  call 
.  .  .  the  call.     [Dies.] 

Hazama 
They  have  him.    [Goes  to  door.]    Come  this  way,  you  Ronin. 
Come  this  way,  Asano's  men.    Kira  is  taken. 

[A  shout  of  joy.     The  Ronin  flock  in  and  line  back  of  stage. 
Kurano  and  the  others  bring  in  Kira.] 

Kurano 
Take  that  body  aside.  [Sagisaka  is  drawn  aside.]  Be  quiet, 
please.  Duke  Kira,  Overlord  of  this  Province,  Knight  of  the 
Sacred  Presence,  Chieftain  of  the  Captains,  Supreme  Coun- 
sellor. We  are  the  friends  and  servants  of  Lord  Asano.  who 
was  done  to  death  by  you,  a  year  ago.  We  come  before  you 
with  a  message  from  our  beloved  master  and  friend.  [He  dis- 
plays the  dagger.]  We  cannot  rest  till  our  master  is  avenged. 
We  have  the  honour,  Duke  Kira,  to  request  you  to  kill  your- 
self, with  this  knife,  duly  prepared. 

[He  kneels  and  offers  the  dagger.    A  long  pause] 
[526] 


THE  FAITHFUL 

The  Ronin 

[Kneeling.]  We  have  the  honour,  Duke  Kira,  to  request  you 
to  kill  yourself.    [A  pause.] 

Kurano 

Duke  Kira,  in  the  name  of  our  beloved  master,  and  friend, 
we  request  you  to  kill  yourself.  [A  long  pause.  Drawing  his 
sword.]    Justice  must  be  done,  then. 

Curtain 

Scene  IV. — The  outer  scene 

Kurano 

Come  this  way.  Come  this  way.  It  is  but  a  little  way.  The 
word  has  gone  to  the  Envoy.  The  order  will  come  in  a  few 
minutes. 

This  is  the  grave.  This  is  the  holy  place.  We  are  all  anointed 
and  ready.  We  have  kept  faith  this  night,  and  it  will  soon  be 
morning.  Look,  our  lanterns  are  dim,  and  there  is  all  the  dew 
on  the  grass.  This  is  Asano' s  grave.  This  little  green  heap 
where  the  little  flowers  grow.  So  now  we  have  come  here.  Oh, 
the  joy  of  being  able  to  come!  We  are  the  happy  faithful  and 
the  birds  are  beginning. 

My  beloved  man,  whom  I  knew,  our  master  and  friend, 
lying  here  under  the  grass,  we  come  here  on  our  knees,  to  say 
that  we  have  kept  faith.  We  have  broken  the  chain  and  spilled 
the  cup.    He  is  dead,  Asano. 

Asano,  beloved  master,  we  offer  you  back  this  knife. 

It  was  stained  when  you  left  it  with  us.  We  have  cleansed 
the  stain. 

Take  it  from  us,  Master  Asano,  with  our  love  and  with  our 
lives. 

(5271 


THE  FAITHFUL 

The  Ronin 
Gladly  given,  Master  Asano.    [A  trumpet  winds.] 

Kurano 
Now  I  receive  the  herald  who  will  bid  us  come  to  you,  Asano, 
in  whatever  windy  place  the  dead  know,  to  be  with  you  for- 
ever.   [A  trumpet  winds.] 

[The  Herald  enters] 

The  Herald 
Kurano  and  the  retainers  of  Asano  Takumi  no  Kami. 

Kurano 
We  are  here. 

The  Herald 
I  have  a  message  for  you. 

That  you  are  to  kill  yourselves  here,  on  this  spot  for  the 
murder  of  Duke  Kira.    [He  presents  the  order.] 

Kurano 
We  accept  the  order.    You  shall  witness  our  obedience  to  it. 

The  Herald 
I  salute  you,  faithful  ones. 

Kurano 
You  trumpeters,  who  call  the  faithful  to  death  in  all  the 
armies  of  the  world,  blow  a  long  point 

That  long-dead  heroes 
Manning  the  ramparts  of  God 
May  hear  us  coming, 
Baring  our  hearts  to  the  sword 
For  him  we  loved  so. 

Curtain 

[528] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 
A  PLAY  IN  ONE  ACT 


TO 

MY  WIFE 


Persons 

Philip  the  Second  of  Spain 

His  Daughter,  the  Infanta 

An  English  Prisoner 

A  Spanish  Captain 

Guards 

Spirits 

Indians 

Don  John  of  Austria 

Escovedo 

Don  Alvaro  de  Bazan,  the  Marquis  of  Santa  Cruz 

Alonso  de  Leyva 

Time 
At  dawn  in  late  September,  1588 

Scene 
A  little  dark  cell  in  Philip's  palace 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Philip 
[Kneeling]  Lord,  I  am  that  Philip  whom  Thou  hast  made 
King  of  half  the  world.  Thou  knowest,  Lord,  how  great  a  fleet 
I  have  fitted  out  to  destroy  the  English,  who  work  evil  against 
Thee.  Lord,  I  beseech  Thee,  keep  that  great  Armada  now, 
as  I  trust,  in  battle  on  the  English  coast.     Protect  my  ships, 

0  Lord,  from  fire  and  pestilence,  from  tempest  and  shipwreck, 
and  in  the  day  of  battle.    Amen.    Amen. 

Lord,  now  that  the  battle  is  joined,  grant  us  Thy  victory, 

1  beseech  Thee.    Amen.    Amen. 

Lord,  I  beseech  Thee  to  have  in  Thy  special  keeping  my 
beloved  friend,  Alonso  de  Leyva,  now  at  sea  with  my  fleet. 
Guard  his  ways,  O  Lord,  that  so  he  may  come  safely  home  to 
me.    Amen.    Amen. 

Lord,  of  Thy  mercy,  I  beseech  Thee  to  send  to  me,  if  it  be 
Thy  will,  some  word  or  message  from  my  fleet,  that  I  may 
know  Thy  will  concerning  it,  that  my  weary  heart  may  find 
peace.    Amen.    Amen.    [He  rises.] 

[Enter  the  Princess] 

Princess 
Has  no  news  come? 

Philip 
None  yet. 

Princess 

Still  nothing? 

Philip 

No. 
1 533  1 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Princess 
Two  months  now  since  they  sailed  and  still  no  word. 

Philip 
The  wind  is  foul;  they  cannot  send. 

Princess 

I  know. 
And  yet  what  tales,  what  rumours  we  have  heard. 
How  the  heart  sickens  for  the  want  of  news. 
Is  that  a  courier? 


No. 


Philip 

Princess 
What  if  we  lose? 

Philip 
Why  should  we  lose  ? 

Princess 

Because  of  too  much  pride 
Planning  for  glory  not  as  scripture  bade. 

Philip 
I  am  not  proud  nor  hopeful,  nor  afraid. 
But  you  are  trembling,  sweet,  and  heavy-eyed. 

Princess 
I  am  afraid,  for  all  night  long 
The  spirit  of  Spain's  committed  wrong, 
Nourished  wherever  a  life  was  shed, 

Stood  near  my  bed; 
Amd  all  night  long  it  talked  to  me 
Of  a  trouble  there  is  beyond  the  sea. 

[S34l 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

A  trouble  of  war  ...  I  heard  a  horn 

Blowing  forlorn, 
And  I  knew  that  it  came  from  far  away, 
From  men  of  Spain  in  a  pass  at  bay 
Blowing  for  help;  the  beaten  call 
None  heeds  at  all. 
And  now  I  fear  that  we  have  angered  Him 

Who  makes  pride  dim. 

Philip 
What  we  have  done  with  our  might 
Cannot  be  hateful  to  God. 
He  speaks  with  dreams  in  the  night 
That  the  tired  heart  turn  home 
And  an  end  of  brooding  come. 
My  heart  has  flushed  in  His  praise, 
The  glow  in  my  heart  took  sail 
In  a  fleet  that  darkens  the  sprays; 
Sacrifice  may  not  avail, 
But  the  uttermost  gift  is  wise. 

Princess 
Yes,  I  believe  that;  and  the  deed  is  grand — 
It  is  a  mighty  blow  to  deal  for  God. 
But  in  my  ear  there  rings 
Ill-omened  words  about  the  pride  of  kings — 
"Pride  is  the  evil  that  destroys  a  land." 

Philip 
Brooding  and  watching  waste  you,  you  must  sleep; 
The  hand  of  God  will  bring  us  through  the  deep. 

[S35l 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Princess 
Amen,  my  father,  but  my  heart  is  breaking. 

Philip 
You  are  too  young  for  heart-break;  let  it  be. 

Princess 
There  was  another  fear  which  kept  me  waking: 
Spain's  unborn  monarchs  came  by  night  to  me, 
Each  holding  fewer  of  the  Spanish  gems 
Here  and  abroad,  each  weaker  in  the  soul. 
With  wearier  brows  and  dimmer  diadems, 
And  feebler  fingers  giving  up  control, 
Till,  as  it  seemed,  a  hundred  years  from  now, 
An  idiot  child  was  all  the  might  of  Spain, 
And  English  spirits  beat  them  on  the  brow, 
Robbing  their  gems  and  binding  them  with  chain. 
And  Spain's  proud  flag  was  draggled  in  the  sea. 
And  then  these  shapes  lamented,  threatening  me; 
Saying  that  we  began  Spain's  downfall  here — 
So  grimly,  father,  that  I  shook  with  fear. 

Philip 
Child,  these  are  only  dreams.    I  have  learned  this 
Since  I  have  been  a  king,  that  our  concern 
Is  not  with  Hope  nor  Fear,  but  with  what  is, 
Which,  when  we  follow  dreams,  we  cannot  learn. 
Be  patient,  child;  besides,  the  wind  has  changed; 
God's  will  must  never  find  our  hearts  estranged: 
The  wind  is  north,  the  news  may  come  to-day. 
Ship  after  ship  is  running  down  the  Bay 
With  news;  God  grant  that  it  be  happy  news. 

[5361 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Princess 
Rest  till  it  comes,  dear  father. 

Philip 

You  can  choose, 
You  who  are  young,  whether  to  rest  or  no; 
When  one  is  old  one  sees  the  hours  go. 
Dear,  they  go  fast  from  withered  men  like  me. 
You  were  my  little  daughter  on  my  knee 
When  first  this  war  with  England  was  conceived. 
Now  you  are  this  .  .  .,  it  would  not  be  believed, 
And  nothing  done,  and  still  time  hurrying  by. 
We  are  two  grey  old  partners — Time  and  I : 
Look  at  the  work  we  do  .  .  .  you  talk  of  rest. 

Princess 
You  call  your  Captains  in  and  choose  the  best, 
And  make  him  do  the  work. 

Philip 

Ah,  you're  a  Queen, 
That  is  what  you  would  do,  but  I  am  King. 
Kings  have  no  beauty  to  make  duty  keen; 
They  have  to  supervise  with  whip  and  sting. 

Princess 
You  do  not  whip  men;  you  are  good  and  mild. 

Philip 
Artists  and  Kings  do  what  they  can,  my  child, 
Not  what  they  would.    It  is  not  easy,  dear, 
Working  with  men,  for  men  are  only  clay, 
They  crumble  in  the  hand,  or  they  betray 

[5371 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

And  time  goes  by,  but  no  results  appear — 
Your  little  hands  have  happier  work  than  mine. 
Ah,  little  daughter,  childhood  is  divine. 

Princess 
I  am  no  child  now  that  the  fleet  has  sailed; 
I  was  till  then,  but  now  I  realize 
What  it  would  cost  my  father  if  it  failed. 

Philip 
Yes,  it  has  cost  some  life,  this  enterprise. 

Princess 
But  all  you  had  to  do  was  give  the  word. 

Philip 
Ah,  darling,  many  thousand  men  have  heard 
Orders  from  me  since  this  attempt  began 
Seventeen  years  ago.    Full  many  a  man 
Who  helped  the  earliest  outlines  of  the  plot 
Died  at  his  unknown  task  suspecting  not 
What  pattern  his  life's  colour  helped  to  weave. 
Child,  if  I  told  you,  you  would  not  believe 
How  this  idea  has  triumphed  on  unchanged 
Past  great  commanders'  deaths,  past  faith  estranged, 
Past  tyranny  and  bloodshed  and  ill-hap, 
Treachery  striking  like  a  thunder-clap, 
Murder,  betrayal,  lying,  past  all  these, 
Past  the  grim  days  when  feelings  had  to  freeze 
Lest  the  great  King  should  drop  his  mask  of  lies 
And  hint  his  purpose  to  the  thwarted  spies, 

[538  1 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Past  half  a  world  of  men  and  years  of  thought, 
Past  human  hope,  to  be  the  thing  I  sought. 
Now  that  the  dice  are  scattered  for  the  stakes, 
I  half  forget  that  old  affront  of  Drake's, 
By  which  this  war  with  England  was  begun. 

0  child,  the  labour  that  must  first  be  done 
Before  a  King  can  act ! — unending  work. 
All  the  long  days  of  beating  down  the  Turk, 

Then  when  Don  John  had  thrust  the  Crescent  down 
(You  cannot  know)  he  plotted  for  the  crown; 
Don  John,  my  Admiral,  plotted  against  me. 
He  would  have  sunk  the  English  in  the  sea, 
But  since  he  plotted,  that  was  ended  too. 
Then  a  great  world  of  labour  still  to  do, 
The  French  to  check,  and  then  the  Portuguese, 
Clearing  myself  a  pathway  through  the  seas. 
Then,  when  my  way  was  clear,  my  Admiral  died, 
The  Marquis  Santa  Cruz,  the  unconquered  guide, 
The  greatest  sea  commander  of  known  times. 
Seventeen  years  of  subtleties  and  crimes. 

But  it  is  done.    I  have  resolved  those  years, 

Those  men,  those  crimes,  those  great  attempts,  those  teais, 

Sorrows  and  terrors  of  a  twisted  earth, 

Into  this  fleet,  this  death,  this  Dragon's  birth; 

1  who  have  never  seen  it,  nor  shall  see. 

Princess 
I  shall  thank  God  that  it  was  shown  to  me; 
I  saw  it  sail. 

Philip 
You  saw  my  heart's  blood,  child. 

[539] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Princess 
All  a  long  summer  day  those  ships  defiled. 
I  never  saw  so  many  nor  so  grand; 
They  wandered  down  the  tide  and  cleared  the  land, 
And  ranked  themselves  like  pikemen,  clump  to  clump. 
Then  in  the  silence  came  the  Admiral's  trump, 
And  from  those  hundreds  of  expectant  ships, 
From  bells  and  cannonade  and  sailors'  lips, 
And  from  the  drums  and  trumpets  of  the  foot 
Burst  such  a  roaring  thunder  of  salute 
As  filled  my  heart  with  wonder  like  a  cup. 
They  cheered  St.  James's  banner  going  up — 
Golden  St.  James,  whose  figure  blew  out  fair, 
High  on  the  flagship's  mast  in  the  blue  air, 
Rippling  the  gold.    Then  all  the  city  bells, 
Fired  like  the  singing  spheres  some  spirit  impels, 
Rang  in  the  rocking  belfries,  the  guns  roared, 
Each  human  soul  there  shook  like  tautened  cord. 
And  to  that  Christian  march  the  singing  priests 
Bore  up  the  blessed  banners.    Even  the  beasts 
Ramped  at  the  challenge  of  that  shouting  crowd. 
Then,  as  the  wind  came  fair,  the  Armada  bowed. 
Those  hundreds  of  great  vessels,  ranked  in  line, 
Buried  their  bows  and  heaped  the  bubbled  brine 
In  gleams  before  them.    So  they  marched;  the  van, 
Led  by  De  Leyva,  like  slipped  greyhounds,  ran 
To  spy  the  English.    On  the  right  and  left 
By  Valdes  and  his  friend  the  seas  were  cleft; 
Moncada's  gallies  weltered  like  a  weir, 
Flanking  Recalde,  bringing  up  the  rear, 
While  in  the  midst  St.  James's  banner  marched, 
Blowing  towards  England  till  the  flagpole  arched. 

[S4o] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Onward  they  swept  the  sea,  the  flagship's  side 
Smoked  from  her  cannon's  hail;  she  took  her  stride, 
Leaned  and  stretched  forward. 

I  was  conscious  then 
That  I  beheld  the  greatest  fleet  that  men 
Ever  sent  seaward;  all  the  world  was  there, 
All  nations  that  begem  the  crown  you  wear, 
Pikemen  of  Rome,  whose  settled  pikes  had  stood 
Stern  in  full  many  a  welter  of  man's  blood. 
Cunning  Levantines,  armed  with  crooked  swords, 
Venetians  bronzed,  the  ocean's  overlords, 
Pisans  and  knights  of  Malta,  Ferrarese, 
Passionate  half-bloods  from  the  Indian  seas, 
Hollanders,  Austrians,  even  English,  come 
To  bring  again  religion  to  their  home; 
Spain  too,  our  Andalusians,  and  the  hale 
Iberian  Basquers  used  to  hunt  the  whale — 
The  flower  of  the  knighthood  of  the  world 
Mustered  beneath  the  banner  you  unfurled. 

****** 

And  that  was  but  the  half,  for  there  in  France 
Was  Parma's  army  ready  to  advance, 
Death-coupled  bloodhounds  straining  to  the  slipr 
Waiting  your  navy's  coming  to  take  ship. 
Father,  such  power  awed  me. 

Philip 

Time  and  I 
Worked  for  long  years. 

Princess 
And  when  it  had  passed  by 
The  bells  were  silent,  and  a  sigh  arose 

[S4i] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Of  joy  in  that  fleet's  pride,  and  grief  for  those 
Who,  even  if  all  went  well,  had  looked  their  last 
On  men  and  women  who  had  made  their  past. 
Then  darkness  came,  and  all  that  I  could  see 
Was  the  horizon  where  the  fleet  must  be — 
A  dimming  skyline  with  a  setting  star. 
It  was  as  though  they  died;  and  now,  who  knows 
What  has  befallen  them,  or  where  they  are? 
And  night  by  sleepless  night  my  trouble  grows. 
This  daily  silence  has  been  hard  to  bear, 
But  now  I  dread  news  worse. 

Philip 

We  must  prepare, 
Hoping  the  best,  but  ready  for  the  worst; 
But  patient  still,  for  rumour  must  come  first — 
Rumour  and  broken  news  and  seamen's  lies; 
Patience,  expecting  nothing,  is  most  wise. 
If  God  vouchsafes  it,  we  shall  hear  to-day. 
Lighten  your  heart,  my  daughter. 

Princess 

I  will  pray — 
Pray  for  a  Spanish  triumph. 

Philip 
Pray  for  me. 
Pray  for  God's  cause  adventured  on  the  sea. 

Princess 
I  will;  God  help  my  prayer. 

[542] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Philip 
God  help  us  both.    [She  goes.] 
Lord,  I  have  laboured  long  to  keep  my  oath, 
And  since  my  loved  one  died  it  has  been  hard. 
O  Lord,  my  God,  in  blessed  mercy  guard 
My  only  friend  De  Leyva,  now  at  sea; 
Keep  him,  O  Lord,  and  bring  him  home  to  me. 

0  Lord,  be  thou  his  bulwark  and  his  guide; 

1  am  so  lonely  since  my  loved  one  died. 

How  splendidly  the  nations  hold  their  way, 

Marching  with  banners  through  the  fields  of  Time! 

Who  sees  the  withered  King  weary  and  grey, 

Prompting  it  all  with  secret  lust  or  crime? 

Who  guesses  at  the  heavy  brain  behind  ? 

I  am  Earth's  greatest  man;  the  world  is  blind. 

[He  droops  over  his  papers.    Starting  up] 

I  have  still  strength,  and  I  must  read  these  scrolls, 
Or  else  all  goes  to  ruin;  I  must  read.    [He  sleeps.] 


Philip! 
Who  calls? 


Voices 

Philip 

[The  Indians  enter] 

Voices 
We  are  the  Indian  souls, 

Loosed  from  the  gold-mines  where  our  brothers  bleed. 
We  swell  the  tale  of  blood:  we  dug  you  gold; 
We  bore  your  burdens  till  we  died  of  thirst; 

[543] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

We  sweated  in  the  mines  or  shook  with  cold, 
Washing  the  gravel  which  the  blast  had  burst. 
We  dived  for  pearls  until  our  eyeballs  bled; 
You  burned  us  till  we  told  where  treasure  lay. 
We  were  your  Indian  slaves,  but  we  are  dead; 
Our  red  account  is  cast  and  you  must  pay. 

A  Voice 
Our  lives  paid  for  your  fleet;  you  pay  for  us. 
The  unjustly  killed  restore  the  balance  thus. 

A  Voice 
They  flung  my  little  baby  to  the  hounds. 

A  Voice 
They  took  my  daughter  from  me  for  their  lust. 

A  Voice 
Even  the  weak  are  strong  beyond  life's  bounds; 
We  myriad  weak  add  power  to  the  thrust. 

Voices 
Philip!  Philip!  Philip! 
We  gather  from  over  the  sea 
To  the  justice  that  has  to  be 
While  the  blind  red  bull  goes  on. 
Philip!  Philip!  Philip! 
We  who  are  ciphers  slain 
In  a  tale  of  the  pride  of  Spain 
Are  a  part  of  her  glory  gone. 

A  Voice 
We  see  them  where  our  will  can  help  their  foes. 

[5441 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

A  Voice 
Quick,  brother,  quick!    another  galleon  goes! 
Waken  those  sleeping  gunners  by  the  fire, 
Or  she'll  escape  unracked.    [They  fade  away.] 

Philip 

The  voices  tire. 
They  go.    I  dreamed.    I  slept.    My  heavy  head 
Is  drowsed.    What  man  is  that? 

[Don  John  appears,  with  Escovedo  behind  him] 

Voice  of  Don  John  of  Austria 

I  am  the  dead; 
I  am  your  brother,  Philip — brother  John. 

Philip 
You  corpse-fetch  from  the  unclean  grave,  begone! 
I  had  no  brother. 

Don  John 
Would  you  never  had! 

Philip 
You  were  a  landmark  of  my  father's  sin, 
Never  my  brother. 

Don  John 
I  was  that  bright  lad, 
Your  father's  son,  my  brother;  I  helped  win 
Great  glory  for  you,  Philip. 

Philip 
I  agreed 
To  overlook  your  bastardy,  my  friend, 
So  long  as  your  bright  talents  served  my  need; 
But  you  presumed,  and  so  it  had  to  end. 

[545] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Don  John 
My  talents  served  you  well. 

Philip 
They  did,  at  first. 

Don  John 
I  won  the  Battle  of  Lepanto  for  you. 

Philip 
And  afterwards  you  killed  my  troops  with  thirst, 
Following  a  crazy  scheme  which  overbore  you. 

Don  John 
Not  crazy,  unsuccessful. 

Philip 
Poor  vain  ghost, 
Poor  flickering  candle  that  was  bright  awhile. 

Don  John 
I  was  the  man  whom  Europe  worshipped  most, 
One  with  a  mighty  plan  which  you  thought  guile 
Why  did  you  kill  me,  Philip? 

Philip 
You  betrayed  me, 
Or  would  have,  traitor,  had  I  not  been  wise. 

Don  John 
I  was  your  board's  best  piece,  you  should  have  played  me, 
Now  I  am  dead  and  earth  in  is  my  eyes. 

[546] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

I  could  have  won  you  England.    1  had  planned 
To  conquer  England.    I  had  all  prepared 
Ships,  soldiers,  money,  but  your  cruel  hand 
Killed  me,  and  nothing's  done  and  nothing's  dared. 

Philip 
You  planned  to  conquer  England  and  be  King; 
Those  who  obstruct  my  path  I  sweep  aside. 

Don  John 
Brother,  there  is  a  time  for  everything; 
That  was  the  time  for  England,  but  I  died; 
Now  you  attempt  too  late, 
The  powers  have  closed  the  gate, 
Destiny  enters  by  another  door, 
The  lost  chance  comes  no  more. 

The  Voice  of  Escovedo 
Philip,  he  tells  the  truth.    We  could  have  won 
England  for  you,  we  were  no  plotters  then. 

Voices 
Philip,  you  were  betrayed,  you  were  undone. 
You  had  the  moment,  but  you  killed  the  men. 

Escovedo 
The  liar,  Perez,  tricked  you.    O  great  King! 
We  would  have  added  England  to  your  crown, 
Now  the  worms  cling 
About  our  lips  deep  down. 
You  had  me  stabbed  at  midnight  going  home 
That  man  of  Perez'  stabbed  me  in  the  back. 

'5471 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

And  then  I  could  not  stir,  down  on  the  loam; 
The  sky  was  full  of  blood,  the  stars  were  black. 
And  then  I  knew  my  wife  and  children  waited 
But  that  I  could  not  come;  a  moving  hand 
Had  interposed  a  something  fated 
'Twixt  us  and  what  we  planned. 

Don  John 
You  had  me  poisoned  in  that  Holland  den, 
Outcast,  alone,  without  the  help  of  men. 
We  planned  a  glorious  hour 
Hoisting  the  banner  of  Spain 
On  the  top  of  London  Tower, 
With  England  a  Spanish  fief. 
Life  cannot  happen  again, 
And  doing  dies  with  the  brain; 
Autumn  ruins  the  flower 
And  after  the  flower  the  leaf. 

Voices 
Philip,  Philip,  Philip! 
The  evil  men  do  has  strength, 
It  gathers  behind  the  veils 
While  the  unjust  thing  prevails. 
While  the  pride  of  life  is  strong, 
But  the  balance  tips  at  length, 
And  the  unjust  things  are  tales, 
The  pride  of  life  is  a  song. 

Philip 
I  kept  my  purpose  while  you  lived.    Shall  I 
Be  weaker,  now  that  you  are  dead,  you  things? 

lS48] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

What  can  such  reedy  wretches  do  but  die 
Standing  against  the  purposes  of  Kings? 

Don  John 
Do?    We  can  thwart  you. 

Voices 

And  we  will,  we  will; 

All  Spain's  unjustly  murdered  work  you  ill. 

Gather  against  him,  gather,  mock  him  down. 

The  Voice  of  the  Marquis  of  Santa  Cruz 
Scatter,  you  shadows,  fly.    Philip,  great  King. 
You  vultures  gathered  in  an  unclean  ring; 
Away,  you  shadows,  scatter. 
They  are  gone, 
Philip. 

[The  Marquis  enters] 
Who  calls? 

Santa  Cruz 
Master. 

Philip 

Let  me  dream  on. 
Whose  voice  was  that  ?    It  warned  me  of  defeat. 

Santa  Cruz 
I  am  that  Santa  Cruz  who  built  your  fleet, 
And  died  to  make  it  good.    It  was  my  child. 
I  call  because  my  work  has  been  defiled. 

Philip 
Why  rail,  uneasy  soul? 

[549] 


PHIUP  THE  KING 

Santa  Cruz 
If  I  had  spent 
Less  life  in  that,  I  should  be  still  alive, 
Commanding  what  I  built  to  my  content, 
Driving  the  English  slaves  as  conquerors  drive. 
Why  did  you  give  away  my  splendid  sword, 
Forged  by  a  never-conquered  captain's  brain, 
Into  the  hoof-hand  of  an  ambling  lord, 
Useless  in  all  things,  but  to  ruin  Spain? 
Would  God  I  had  but  guessed  it!    Would  my  stars 
Had  shown  me  clearer  what  my  death  would  bring, 
I  would  have  burned  those  galleons,  guns  and  spars, 
Soldiers  and  all,  and  so  have  stopped  this  thing. 
And  doing  that  I  should  have  served  you  well, 
And  brought  less  ruin  on  this  lovely  land. 
What  folly  from  the  unfed  brain  of  hell 
Made  you  promote  that  thing  to  my  command? — 
Folly  from  which  so  many  men  must  die. 

Philip 
We  stand  against  all  comers,  Time  and  I. 
I  chose  the  Duke  because  I  wanted  one  .  .  . 
Who  .  .  . 

Santa  Cruz 
Give  no  reason  for  the  evil  done. 
Souls  wrestle  from  the  ever  deedless  grave 
To  do,  not  to  hear  reason.    Oh,  great  King, 
You  still  may  save  the  ruin  of  this  thing! 

Philip 
You  speak  of  ruin.    Tell  me  what  you  see. 

I55°] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Santa  Cruz 
Ruin  that  threatens,  but  need  never  be. 
Be  silent,  Philip;  listen  while  I  tell 
What  you  must  do. 

Philip 

You  are  a  voice  from  hell; 
I  will  not  listen  to  these  obscene  dreams. 

Santa  Cruz 
Life  is  a  heavy  cloud,  through  which  come  gleams. 
Oh,  Philip,  let  me  speak!    Philip,  I  say, 
One  way  can  still  be  tried;  I  see  the  way. 
You  must  do  this,  but  listen. 

Philip 

I  still  doubt. 

Santa  Cruz 
Listen,  great  King;  the  light  is  dying  out. 
You  are  fading  from  me,  Philip;  they  are  coming. 
Before  it  is  too  late  for  ever  send  .  .  . 

Philip 
Send? 

Santa  Cruz 
Yes. 

Philip 
To  whom  ? 

Santa  Cruz 
To  .  .  . 

Voices 
Drown  his  voice  with  drumming; 

[SSI] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Pipe  with  the  Inca  conch,  the  Indian  flute. 

What  red  flowers  spring  from  this  blood-sprinkled  root! 

Philip 
What  name  was  that  you  said? 

Santa  Cruz 
Wait,  Philip — wait; 
They  are  so  many  and  so  full  of  hate. 

Voices 
Call  to  your  monarch,  Marquis — call  again. 

Philip 
Something  he  meant  is  knocking  at  my  brain — 
Knocking  for  entrance.     Marquis! 


Philip!    King! 
What  must  I  do? 
Oh,  fiends! 


Santa  Cruz 
Philip 

Santa  Cruz 
Voices 


Ah,  conquerors,  sing! 
Now  we  have  triumphed. 

We  have  torn  the  flag. 
Dance  in  a  ring,  victorious  spirits,  dance; 
Brought  to  a  byword  is  the  Spanish  brag, 
And  ruined  is  the  grand  inheritance. 
Mourn,  wretched  Philip,  for  your  plans  are  checked: 
Your  colonies  defenceless;  your  sweet  faith 
Mocked  by  the  heretics;  your  ships  are  wrecked; 
The  strength  of  Spain  has  dwindled  to  a  wraith. 

[552] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Aha!  you  beaten  King,  you  blinded  fool! 
Scream,  for  the  empire  tumbles  from  your  rule. 

Philip 
God  will  deliver  me;  you  are  but  words 
Called  in  the  night-time  by  malignant  birds 
But  who  are  you? 

[The  figure  of  De  Leyva  enters] 

Voice  of  De  Leyva 
I  am  De  Leyva,  come 
Out  of  the  sea,  my  everlasting  home, 
To  whisper  comfort  to  my  ruined  friend. 
Dear,  I  am  dead,  but  friendship  cannot  end; 
Love  does  not  die,  and  I  am  with  you  here. 
Often  in  sorrow  you  will  feel  me  near, 
Feel  me,  but  never  speak,  nor  hear  me  speak. 
Philip,  whatever  bitter  Fate  may  wreak 
On  Spain  and  you,  remember  I  am  here, 
The  dead  are  bound  to  those  they  held  most  dear. 

Philip 
Dreams  of  the  night.    I  dreamed  De  Leyva  came. 

Voices 
Awake  to  hear  the  story  of  your  shame. 

[They  cry.    A  gun  is  shot  off.    Bells] 

Philip 
[Rousing.]    I  dreamed  I  was  defeated  like  those  men 
Whom  I  defeated;  I  have  felt  their  woe. 
What  is  this  noise?    A  message? 

Enter  then. 
[553  1 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Princess 
A  prisoner  comes  with  news  of  victory. 

Philip 
So. 
Victory  comes!    We  win! 

Princess 
The  fleet  has  won! 

Philip 
Thanks  be  to  God  on  high. 

Princess 
His  will  be  done. 

Philip 
Lord,  help  me  use  this  victory  for  Thy  praise. 
Lord,  Thou  hast  burst  this  night  of  many  days 
With  glorious  morning  and  my  heart  is  full. 
O  God,  my  God,  Thy  ways  are  wonderful! 
Bring  me  the  prisoner. 

Princess 

He  brought  this  letter. 
[An  Englishman  is  brought  in] 

Philip 
You  are  an  Englishman? 

Prisoner 
Yes,  your  Majesty. 

Philip 
This  letter  says  that  you  can  tell  me  how  things  have  fared. 
Tell  me  your  story. 

l554l 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Prisoner 

I  was  at  sea,  my  lord,  fishing,  some  fifteen  miles  south-west 
from  Falmouth.  We  were  not  expecting  the  Spanish  fleet,  our 
cruisers  had  said  it  was  not  coming.  It  was  hazy  summer 
weather  and  early  morning.  We  could  hear  that  we  were 
among  a  big  fleet,  and  when  the  haze  lifted  your  ships  were 
all  round  us,  so  we  were  taken  aboard  an  admiral's  ship.  A 
dark  man  the  admiral  was,  with  a  very  quick  way;  he  was 
not  the  chief  admiral,  but  an  Admiral  Recalde,  with  the  rear- 
guard. 

Philip 

Where  was  the  English  fleet  at  that  time?  Was  it  expect- 
ing us? 

Prisoner 

No,  your  honour.  It  was  windbound  in  Plymouth,  unpre- 
pared, as  I  told  your  admiral.    Then  I  was  taken  down  below. 

Philip 
Did  our  fleet  enter  Plymouth,  then? 

Prisoner 

No,  my  lord,  and  I  could  not  think  why,  for  the  wind  held 
and  they  had  only  to  sail  straight  in.    The  day  passed. 

The  next  day  there  was  firing,  and  I  thought  "The  English 
have  got  out  of  the  trap  at  least,"  but  the  firing  died  down, 
and  I  concluded  the  English  were  beaten. 

Philip 
Yes? 

Prisoner 
I  thought  the  ships  would  put  ashore  then  to  take  what  they 

[555] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

had  won,  but  they  kept  at  sea  some  days,  though  there  was 
firing  every  day,  sometimes  very  heavy.  They  said  they  were 
burning  all  the  English  towns  as  they  passed,  and  then  going 
to  France  to  fetch  an  army;  and  after  some  nights  I  was 
brought  ashore  in  Calais  to  come  to  your  Majesty. 

Philip 
What  did  you  see  in  Calais? 

Prisoner 
It  was  a  dark  night,  my  lord,  when  they  sent  me  in.     I  saw 
the  road  full  of  shipping,  lit  up  like  a  town. 

Philip 
What  was  the  feeling  among  you  English  prisoners?    That 
the  Spaniards  had  prospered? 

Prisoner 
Yes,  my  lord.     You  had  reached  your  army,  which  was  all 
your  intent.    You  had  only  to  take  it  across  the  Channel;  the 
wind  was  fair  for  that. 

Philip 
So  then  you  started  for  Spain.    You  know  no  more  of  what 
happened? 

Prisoner 

No,  my  lord,  except  that  looking  back  from  a  hilltop,  I  saw 
a  great  glare  over  Calais. 

Philip 
Something  was  burning  there  ? 

Prisoner 
It  was  the  bonfires,  my  lord,  to  give  them  light;  they  were 

[556] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

embarking  the  army.  Then  in  France  later  on  we  heard  that 
Drake  had  been  sunk  off  Calais  with  fifteen  ships.  A  man 
said  he  had  seen  it.    That  is  all  I  know,  my  lord. 

Philip 
What  you  say  will  be  proved.    You  will  be  returned  to  Eng- 
land.   Treat  this  man  well.    [Exit  Prisoner.] 

Princess 
Father,  what  blessed  news! 

Philip 

We  have  not  failed; 
But  then  he  hardly  knew.    The  letter  here 
Shows  that  our  navy  partly  has  prevailed. 

Princess 
The  news  has  spread. 

Cries  Without 

Long  live  King  Philip!    Cheer! 

Cries 
Cheer  our  great  King!    Long  live  our  noble  King. 
Beat  "Santiago/'  drummers. 

Princess 

Hark!  they  sing. 
The  court  is  dark  with  people,  but  more  come. 

Cries 
Long  live  King  Philip! 

A  Great  Voice 
Silence  for  the  drum! 
And  when  the  drum  beats,  we  will  lift  our  thanks 
Till  his  heart  triumphs. 

[5571 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Silence  in  the  ranks! 
Eyes  front!    0  people,  listen!    Our  attempt 
Has  triumphed  more  than  our  desires  dreamt. 
England  is  ours.    Give  thanks.    Sound  trumpets.    Sing! 

Cries 
Philip,  Philip  the  King!    God  save  the  King! 
Philip  the  conqueror!    Philip!    [A  strange  cry.] 

Princess 

Oh,  look!  look!  .  .  . 
Just  as  they  cheered,  the  palace  banners  shook, 
They  took  it  for  a  sign. 

The  guards  are  there, 
Look,  and  the  monks  are  forming  in  the  square 
Bringing  the  blessed  relics.    Oh,  my  dear! 
I  am  so  happy.    Listen  how  they  cheer. 
Father,  they're  cheering  because  Spain  has  won. 
All  you  have  hoped  and  striven  for  is  done. 
I  hardly  dare  believe  it. 

Cries 
Long  live  Spain. 

Princess 
O,  there  are  horsemen,  I  must  look  again! 

Cries 
There  is  the  Princess  at  the  window.    See? 
God  save  you,  little  lady.    Which  is  she? 
There.    Is  the  King  there?    No.    He  must  be.    Yes. 
God  save  your  Grace.    He's  there  with  the  Princess. 

[558] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Philip 
Stand  farther  back;  they  saw  you. 

Princess 

Oh,  not  now! 
They  called  "God  save  me,"  father;  let  me  bow. 

Philip 
Bow,  then,  my  dear. 

Cries 

God  save  your  pretty  face. 

Princess 
Father,  do  come,  they  want  you. 

Cries 

Bless  your  Grace. 
God  save  the  King — King  Philip. 

Princess 

Father  dear, 
They're  calling  for  you;  stand  beside  me  here. 

Philip 
Not  yet.    It  is  not  time. 

Cries 

Philip  the  King! 

Princess 
Oh,  father,  come!    It  is  a  thrilling  thing 
To  know  they  won,  and  hear  these  shouts  of  praise. 

[5591 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Cries 
God  save  the  King!    God  send  him  many  days! 
Philip  the  King,  the  conqueror  of  the  sea! 
St.  James  for  Spain,  King  Philip,  victory! 
King  Philip!    Santiago! 

Princess 
Father. 

Philip 

Wait! 
Kings  must  not  yield  them  at  too  cheap  a  rate. 

Voices 
Philip  the  King!    The  English  are  destroyed! 
God  save  him!    Victory!    We  are  overjoyed! 
Let  the  bells  ring!    King  Philip!  Philip!  King! 
Ring  the  Cathedral  bells — ay,  let  them  ring! 
St.  James  for  Spain!    King  Philip!    Clear  the  guns! 

[Guns  shot  off] 
King  Philip,  fire — fire  all  at  once. 
King  Philip,  fire!    King  Philip,  fire!    St.  James! 
Thank  God,  the  King  of  kings,  the  Name  of  names! 
Fire,  King  Philip!    Santiago,  fire! 
Give  thanks  to  God  who  gives  us  our  desire! 
Philip,  God  save  and  bless  him! 

Philip 
[Going  to  window] 
I  will  speak. 

Voices 
Fire!    He's  there!    King  Philip! 

[560I 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Philip 

Man  is  weak. 

Voices 
He's  there! 

Princess 
Oh,  father,  look! 

Philip 

Stand  at  my  side. 

Voices 
God  bless  and  guard  our  blessed  country's  guide! 
King  Philip,  fire!    The  King!    [The  bells  begin.] 

Princess 

Oh,  bells  of  joy! 
And  now  the  monks  are  singing. 

The  Monks 
Let  us  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord  of  lords, 
Who  saves  His  faithful  from  the  Egyptian  swords. 

Voices 
Amen.    God  save  the  King. 

The  Monks 
He  made  the  Red  Sea  waters  to  divide, 
And  led  our  Israel  through  with  Him  for  guide. 

Voices 
Amen.    God  save  the  King!    Philip  the  King! 

[561] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Philip 

0  God,  I  thank  Thee  for  this  marvellous  thing. 

The  Monks 
He  whelmed  King  Pharaoh's  army  in  the  sea, 
And  of  His  mercy  gave  us  victory. 

Voices 
The  famous  kings  are  blown  like  chaff 
Before  Thy  fiery  car. 

Thou  smit'st  th'  ungodly  with  Thy  staff  .  .  . 
Philip  the  King!    God  save  our  prudent  King! 

Philip 
My  subjects,  whom  God  gave  me  for  His  ends  .  .  . 

Princess 
Whatever  pain  you  bore,  this  makes  amends. 

Voices 
Speak  to  your  loving  hearts,  your  Majesty. 

Philip 

1  do  His  will;  to  God  the  glory  be. 

The  Monks 
Praise  Him,  O  sun  and  moon,  morning  and  evening  star! 
The  kings  who  mocked  His  word  are  broken  in  the  war. 
Praise  Him  with  heart  and  soul!     Praise  Him  with  voice  and 
lute! 

Voices 
The  King!    God  save  the  King !    Silence!    He  speaks.    Salute! 

[562] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

The  Monks 
In  the  dark  night,  ere  dawn,  we  will  arise  and  sing 
Glory  to  God  on  high,  the  praises  of  our  King. 

Voices 
The  King  is  going  to  speak.    He  makes  a  sign. 
God  bless  your  noble  Grace  and  all  your  line! 
God  bless  you,  Sir,  for  all  your  thought  for  us! 
The  conquering  King,  Philip  victorious! 
Philip  the  great  and  good!    Hush!    Silence!    Peace! 
Philip!    Attention!    Bid  the  ringers  cease. 
The  King  is  going  to  speak;  he  raised  his  hand. 

Princess 
Dear,  to  be  loved  as  you  are  is  most  grand. 
Speak  to  them,  father;  thank  them  for  their  love. 

The  Monks 
I  will  exalt  the  Name  of  God  above. 

Voices 
The  bells  are  hushed.    Be  quiet!    Silence  all! 

Philip 
I  thought  I  heard,  far  off,  a  funeral  call; 
As  in  your  dream,  a  melancholy  cry. 

Princess 
It  was  the  fifes. 

Philip 
No;  listen! 

[563! 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Princess 

That  sound? 

Philip 

Ay. 
Princess 

It  was  the  crowd  outside.    Now  they  are  still. 

Philip 
No,  it  was  singing  coming  up  the  hill — 
Sad  singing,  too. 

Princess 
I  did  not  hear  it. 


Philip 

Princess 
The  bells  have  left  a  trembling  in  the  air. 


There! 


Philip 
No;  it  was  voices.    I  will  speak  one  word 
To  these  below.    There  is  the  noise  I  heard 

[Recalde's  men  are  heard  singing] 

Recalde's  Men 
Out  of  the  deep,  out  of  the  deep,  we  come, 
Preserved  from  death  at  sea  to  die  at  home. 
Mercy  of  God  alone  preserved  us  thus; 
In  the  waste  sea  Death  laid  his  hand  on  us. 

Princess 
The  Black  Monks  in  a  penitential  psalm. 

[564] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Voices 
Philip  the  King! 

Philip 
Til  wait. 

Princess 
Oh,  speak! 

Philip 

Be  calm! 
I  cannot  cross  God's  word  with  words  of  mine. 

Voices 
Quiet,  you  singers! 

Princess 
They  are  men  in  line. 

[Recalde's  men  are  heard  singing] 

Recalde's  Men 
We  called  the  world  too  small  with  boastful  lips; 
Now  we  are  ghosts  crawled  from  the  bones  of  ships. 
We  were  most  glorious  at  our  setting  sail; 
Now  our  knees  knock,  our  broken  spirits  fail. 
Our  banner  is  abased  and  all  our  pride: 
A  tale  of  ships  that  sank  and  men  who  died. 

Princess 
Listen!    Who  are  they? 

Philip 
What  is  it  they  sing? 

Voices 
The  King  is  speaking.    Silence  for  the  King! 

[565] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Let  the  King  speak;  be  still.    You  ragged  crew, 
Have  you  no  manners?    Silence!    Who  are  you? 

Recalde's  Men 
We  are  the  beaten  men,  the  men  accursed, 
Whose  bitter  glory  'tis  t'  have  borne  the  worst. 

Princess 
They  are  not  monks. 

Philip 
Nor  beggars. 

Princess 

Now  they  stand. 
Voices 
Yon  navy's  sweepings  driven  back  to  land. 
Go  to  the  hens  and  tunnies;  beat  them  down 
Back  to  the  sea  you  ran  from;  back  and  drown. 

Recalde's  Men 
Pity  our  shame,  you  untried  heroes  here. 
Defeat's  not  victory,  but  'tis  bought  as  dear. 

Philip 
They  are  sailors  from  the  fleet. 

Princess 

They  come  with  news. 
They  are  ragged  to  the  skin,  they  have  no  shoes. 

Philip 
The  crowd  is  still. 

[566] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Princess 
Why  do  they  come  like  this? 

Philip 
Listen;  their  Captain  tells  them  what  it  is. 

Recalde's  Men 
Darken  the  bedrooms  for  us,  people  all, 
And  let  us  turn  our  faces  to  the  wall, 
And  let  the  darkness  and  the  silence  make 
A  quiet  time  in  which  our  hearts  may  break. 

[A  murmur  runs  through  the  Court] 

Princess 
Father,  what  is  it? 

Philip 
Child,  the  Act  of  One 
Who  chastens  earthly  kings,  whose  Will  be  done. 

Princess 
It  means  that  we  are  beaten  ? 

Philip 

Who  can  tell? 

Princess 
Father. 

Philip 
Dear  child,  even  defeat  is  well. 

Princess 
I  thought  that  we  were  happy. 

[S67l 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Philip 
Watch  the  square. 
Now  tell  me  calmly  what  is  passing  there. 

Princess 
The  Captain  comes,  the  crowd  is  making  way. 

Philip 
Who  is  it?    Can  you  see? 

Princess 
His  hair  is  grey. 
He  walks  bareheaded,  slowly,  and  the  crowd 
Shrink  as  though  Death  were  passing  in  his  shroud. 

Philip 
Worse  news  has  come.    Who  is  the  man? 

Princess 
His  face  .  .  . 

I  seem  to  know  him,  but  the  air  is  strange. 
He  puts  the  touch  of  Death  upon  the  place. 
Nothing  but  Death  could  fashion  such  a  change. 
He  carries  something.    Now  the  people  kneel. 
We  are  defeated,  Father. 

Philip 
What  I  feel 
I  cover.    Go  within.    Misfortune  stuns 
None  but  the  tender.    [Exit  Princess.] 

Voices 
Give  us  back  our  sons. 
Philip,  give  back  our  sons,  our  lovely  sons. 

[568] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

The  Palace  Guard 
Halt!    Who  comes  there? 


A  Voice 

Spain  and  the  Empire. 

The  Guard 

Pass, 


Spain  and  the  Empire. 


Voices 
They  are  drowned.    Alas! 
Philip,  give  back  our  sons,  our  lovely  sons. 

[Enter  Messenger,  carrying  an  Admiral's  chain] 

Philip 
What  brings  you  to  me,  Captain? 

Messenger 

This  gold  chain  .  .  . 
Bears  the  twelve  badges  of  the  strength  of  Spain 
Once  linked  in  glory,  Philip,  but  now  loosed. 

[Detaching  link  from  link] 

Castilla,  Leon,  Aragon,  and  these, 
Palestine,  Portugal,  the  Sicilies, 
Navarre,  Granada,  the  Valencian  State, 
The  Indies,  East  and  West,  the  Archducate, 
The  Western  Mainland  in  the  Ocean  Sea. 
Those  who  upheld  their  strength  have  ceased  to  be. 
I,  who  am  dying,  King,  have  seen  their  graves. 
Philip,  your  Navy  is  beneath  the  waves. 

[569] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Philip 
He  who  in  bounty  gives  in  wisdom  takes. 

Messenger 

0  King,  forgive  me,  for  my  spirit  breaks; 

1  saw  those  beaches  where  the  Grange  descends 
White  with  unburied  corpses  of  stripped  friends. 

Philip 
I  grieve  that  Spain's  disaster  brings  such  loss. 

Messenger 
From  Pentland  to  the  Groyne  the  tempests  toss 
Unshriven  Spaniards  driving  with  the  tide. 
They  were  my  lovely  friends  and  they  have  died, 
Far  from  wind-broken  Biscay,  far  from  home, 
With  no  anointing  chrism  but  the  foam. 

Philip 
The  dead  will  rise  from  unsuspected  slime; 
God's  chosen  will  be  gathered  in  God's  time. 

Messenger 
King,  they  died  helpless;  our  unwieldy  fleet 
Made  such  a  target  to  the  English  guns 
That  we  were  riddled  through  like  sifted  wheat. 
We  never  came  to  grappling  with  them  once. 
They  raked  us  from  a  distance,  and  then  ran. 
Each  village  throughout  Spain  has  lost  a  man; 
The  widows  in  the  seaports  fill  the  streets. 

Philip 
Uncertain  chance  decides  the  fate  of  fleets. 

[S7o] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Messenger 
Now  the  North  Sea  is  haunted  for  all  time 
By  miserable  souls  whose  dying  words 
Cursed  the  too  proud  adventure  as  a  crime. 
Our  broken  galleons  house  the  gannet-birds. 
The  Irish  burn  our  Captain's  bones  for  lime. 
O  misery  that  the  might  of  England  wrought! 

Philip 
Christ  is  the  only  remedy  for  thought 
When  the  mind  sickens.    We  are  pieces  played, 
Not  moving  as  we  will,  but  as  we  are  made; 
Beaten  and  spurred  at  times  like  stubborn  steeds, 
That  we  may  go  God's  way.    Your  spirit  bleeds, 
Having  been  proved  in  trouble  past  her  strength. 
Give  me  the  roll  in  all  its  ghastly  length. 
Which  of  my  friends  survive,  if  any  live? 

Messenger 
Some  have  survived,  but  all  are  fugitive. 
Your  Admiral  in  command  is  living  still; 
Michael  Oquendo  too,  though  he  is  ill, 
Dying  of  broken  heart  and  bitter  shame. 
Valdes  is  prisoner,  Manrique  the  same. 

Philip 
God  willed  the  matter;  they  are  not  to  blame. 
Thank  God  that  they  are  living.    Name  the  rest. 

Messenger 
They  are  all  dead  .  .  .  with  him  you  loved  the  best. 

[S7i] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Philip 
I  dreamed  De  Leyva  died,  so  it  is  true? 

Messenger 
Drowned  on  the  Irish  coast  with  all  his  crew. 
After  enduring  dying  many  days 
The  sea  has  given  him  quiet.    Many  ways 
Lead  men  to  death,  and  he  a  hard  one  trod, 
Bearing  much  misery,  like  a  knight  of  God. 

Philip 
Amen.    Go  on. 

Messenger 
Hugh  de  Moncada  died, 
Shot  in  his  burning  ship  by  Calais  side, 
Cheering  his  men  to  save  her.    Pimentel 
Sank  in  a  galleon  shambled  like  a  hell 
Rather  than  yield,  and  in  a  whirl  of  flames 
Pedro  Mendoza,  Captain  of  St.  James, 
Stood  with  Don  Philip  thrusting  boarders  back 
Till  their  Toledan  armour  was  burnt  black, 
And  both  their  helms  ran  blood.    And  there  they  fell, 
Shot  down  to  bleed  to  death.    They  perished  well, 
Happy  to  die  in  battle  for  their  King 
Before  defeat  had  fallen  on  their  friends; 
Happier  than  most,  for  where  the  merrows  sing 
Paredes  and  his  brother  met  their  ends, 
And  Don  Alarcon,  cast  alive  ashore, 
Was  killed  and  stripped  and  hanged  upon  a  tree. 
And  young  Mendoza,  whom  the  flagship  bore, 
Died  of  starvation  and  of  misery. 

[572] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

But  hundreds  perished,  King;  why  mention  these? 
Battle  and  hunger,  heart-break,  and  the  seas 
Have  overwhelmed  the  chivalry  of  Spain. 

Philip 
Misfortune,  after  effort,  brings  no  stain. 
Perhaps  I  underjudged  the  English  fleet. 
How  was  it  that  the  Spaniards  met  defeat? 
What  evil  fortune  brought  about  our  fall? 

Messenger 
Their  sailors  and  their  cannon  did  it  all. 

Philip 
Yet  when  the  fleet  reached  Calais  all  went  well. 

Messenger 
Our  woes  began  there. 

Philip 
Tell  me  what  befell. 

Messenger 

We  were  to  ship  the  troops  in  Calais  Road; 
They  lay  encamped,  prepared  to  go  aboard. 
To  windward  still  the  English  fleet  abode — 
Still  as  in  port  when  peace  has  been  restored. 

The  wind  and  sea  were  fair, 
We  lay  at  anchor  there; 
The  stars  burned  in  the  air, 
The  men  were  sleeping, 
When  in  the  midnight  dark 
Our  watchman  saw  a  spark 
(573) 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Suddenly  light  a  bark 
With  long  flames  leaping. 

Then,  as  they  stood  amazed, 
Others  and  others  blazed; 
Then  terror  set  them  crazed, 
They  ran  down  screaming: 
"Fire-ships  are  coming!    Wake 
Cast  loose,  for  Jesus'  sake! 
Eight  fire-ships  come  from  Drake — 
Look  at  their  gleaming!" 

Roused  in  the  dark  from  bed, 
We  saw  the  fire  show  red, 
And  instant  panic  spread 
Through  troops  and  sailors; 
They  swarmed  on  deck  unclad, 
They  did  what  terror  bade, 
King,  they  were  like  the  mad 
Escaped  from  jailers. 

Some  prayed  for  mercy,  some 

Rang  bells  or  beat  the  drum, 

As  though  despair  had  come 

At  hell's  contriving; 

Captains  with  terror  pale 

Screamed  through  the  dark  their  hail, 

"Cut  cable,  loose  the  sail, 

And  set  all  driving!" 

Heading  all  ways  at  once, 
Grinding  each  other's  guns, 
Our  blundering  galleons 
Athwart-hawse  galleys, 
[S74l 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Timbers  and  plankings  cleft, 
And  half  our  tackling  reft, 
Your  grand  Armada  left 
The  roads  of  Calais. 

Weary  and  overwrought 
We  strove  to  make  all  taut; 
But  when  the  morning  brought 
The  dawn  to  light  us, 
Drake,  with  the  weather  gage, 
Made  signal  to  engage, 
And,  like  a  pard  in  rage, 
Bore  down  to  fight  us. 

Nobly  the  English  line 
Trampled  the  bubbled  brine; 
We  heard  the  gun-trucks  whine 
To  the  taut  laniard. 
Onwards  we  saw  them  forge, 
White  billowing  at  the  gorge. 
"On,  on!"  they  cried,  "St.  George! 
Down  with  the  Spaniard!" 

From  their  van  squadron  broke 
A  withering  battle-stroke, 
Tearing  our  planked  oak 
By  straiks  asunder, 
Blasting  the  wooc  like  rot 
With  such  a  hail  of  shot, 
So  constant  and  so  hot 
It  beat  us  under. 

The  English  would  not  close; 
They  fought  us  as  they  chose, 
[J75l 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

Dealing  us  deadly  blows 
For  seven  hours. 
Lords  of  our  chiefest  rank 
The  bitter  billow  drank, 
For  there  the  English  sank 
Three  ships  of  ours. 


Then  the  wind  forced  us  northward  from  the  fight; 

We  could  not  ship  the  army  nor  return; 

We  held  the  sea  in  trouble  through  the  night, 

Watching  the  English  signals  blink  and  burn. 

The  English  in  a  dim  cloud  kept  astern; 

All  night  they  signalled,  while  our  shattered  ships 

Huddled  like  beasts  beneath  the  drovers'  whips. 


At  dawn  the  same  wind  held;  we  could  not  strive. 
The  English  drove  us  north  as  herdsmen  drive. 


Under  our  tattered  flags, 
With  rigging  cut  to  rags, 
Our  ships  like  stricken  stags 
Were  heaped  and  hounded. 
Caught  by  the  unknown  tide, 
With  neither  chart  nor  guide, 
We  fouled  the  Holland  side, 
Where  four  more  grounded. 

Our  water-casks  were  burst, 
The  horses  died  of  thirst, 
[576] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

The  wounded  raved  and  curst, 
Uncared,  untended. 
All  night  we  heard  the  crying 
Of  lonely  shipmates  dying; 
We  had  to  leave  them  lying. 
So  the  fight  ended. 

Philip 
God  gives  His  victory  as  He  wills.    But  this 
Was  not  complete  destruction.    What  thing  worse 
Came  to  destroy  you  ? 

Messenger 
An  avenging  curse, 
Due  for  old  sins,  destroyed  us. 

Philip 

Tell  the  tale. 

Messenger 
O  King,  when  morning  dawned  it  blew  a  gale, 
But  still  the  English  followed,  and  we  fled 
Till  breakers  made  the  dirty  waters  pale. 
We  saw  the  Zealand  sandbanks  right  ahead, 
Blind  in  a  whirling  spray  that  gave  us  dread; 
For  we  were  blown  there,  and  the  water  shoaled. 
The  crying  of  the  leadsmen  at  the  lead, 
Calling  the  soundings,  were  our  death-bells  tolled. 

We  drifted  down  to  death  upon  the  sands — 
The  English  drew  away  to  watch  us  drown; 
We  saw  the  bitter  breakers  with  gery  hands 
Tear  the  dead  body  of  the  sandbank  brown. 

[577] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

We  could  do  nothing,  so  we  drifted  down 
Singing  the  psalms  for  death — we  who  had  been 
Lords  of  the  sea  and  knights  of  great  renown, 
Doomed  to  be  strangled  by  a  death  unclean. 

Philip 
So  there  the  ships  were  wrecked  ? 

Messenger 

Time  had  not  struck. 
O  King,  we  learned  how  blessed  mercy  saves: 
Even  as  our  forefoot  grounded  on  the  muck, 
Tripping  us  up  to  drown  us  in  the  waves, 
A  sudden  windshift  snatched  us  from  our  graves 
And  drove  us  north;  and  now  another  woe, 
Tempest  unending,  beat  our  ships  to  staves — 
A  never-dying  gale  with  frost  and  snow. 

Now  our  hearts  failed,  for  food  and  water  failed; 
The  men  fell  sick  by  troops,  the  wounded  died. 
They  washed  about  the  wet  decks  as  we  sailed 
For  want  of  strength  to  lift  them  overside. 
Desolate  seas  we  sailed,  so  grim,  so  wide, 
That  ship  by  ship  our  comrades  disappeared. 
With  neither  sun  nor  star  to  be  a  guide, 
Like  spirits  of  the  wretched  dead  we  steered. 

Till,  having  beaten  through  the  Pentland  Pass, 
We  saw  the  Irish  surf,  with  mists  of  spray 
Blowing  far  inland,  blasting  trees  and  grass, 
And  gave  God  thanks,  for  we  espied  a  bay 
Safe,  with  bright  water  running  down  the  clay — 
A  running  brook  where  we  could  drink  and  drink. 

[5781 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

But  drawing  near,  our  ships  were  cast  away, 
Bilged  on  the  rocks;  we  saw  our  comrades  sink  .  .  . 

Or  worse:  for  those  the  breakers  cast  ashore 
The  Irish  killed  and  stripped;  their  bodies  white 
Lay  naked  to  the  wolves — yea,  sixty  score — 
All  down  the  windy  beach,  a  piteous  sight. 
The  savage  Irish  watched  by  bonfire  light 
Lest  more  should  come  ashore;  we  heard  them  there 
Screaming  the  bloody  news  of  their  delight. 
Then  we  abandoned  hope  and  new  despair. 

And  now  the  fleet  is  sunken  in  the  sea, 
And  all  the  seamen,  all  the  might  of  Spain, 
Are  dead,  O  King,  and  out  of  misery, 
Never  to  drag  at  frozen  ropes  again — 
Never  to  know  defeat,  nor  feel  the  pain 
Of  watching  dear  companions  sink  and  die. 
Death's  everlasting  armistice  to  the  brain 
Gives  their  poor  griefs  quietus;  let  them  lie. 

I,  like  a  ghost  returning  from  the  grave, 
Come  from  a  stricken  ship  to  tell  the  news 
Of  Spanish  honour  which  we  could  not  save, 
Nor  win  again,  nor  even  die  to  lose; 
And  since  God's  hidden  wisdom  loves  to  bruise 
Those  whom  he  loves,  we,  trembling  in  despair, 
Will  watch  our  griefs  to  see  God's  finger  there, 
And  make  His  will  our  solace  and  excuse. 

Defeat  is  bitter  and  the  truth  is  hard — 
Spain  is  defeated,  England  has  prevailed; 
This  is  the  banner  which  I  could  not  guard, 

[579] 


PHILIP  THE  KING 

And  this  the  consecrated  sword  which  failed. 
Do  with  your  dying  Captain  as  you  will. 

[He  lays  down  sword  and  banner] 

Philip 
I,  from  my  heart,  thank  God,  from  whose  great  hand 
I  am  so  helped  with  power,  I  can  still 
Set  out  another  fleet  against  that  land. 
Nor  do  I  think  it  ill 
If  all  the  running  water  takes  its  course 
While  there  are  unspent  fountains  at  the  source. 

He  sendeth  out  His  word  and  melteth  them. 
Take  back  your  standard,  Captain.    As  you  go, 
Bid  the  bells  toll  and  let  the  clergy  come. 
Then  in  the  city  by  the  strike  of  drum 
Proclaim  a  general  fast.    In  bitter  days 
The  soul  finds  God,  God  us. 

[Exit  Captain] 

Philip 

[Alone] 

De  Leyva,  friend, 
Whom  I  shall  never  see,  never  again, 
This  misery  that  I  feel  is  over  Spain. 
O  God,  beloved  God,  in  pity  send 
That  blessed  rose  among  the  thorns — an  end: 
Give  a  bruised  spirit  peace. 

[He  kneels.    A  muffled  march  of  the  drums] 
Curtain 

[cap] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 
A  DRAMATIC  POEM 


PERSONS 

Pontius  Pilate,  Procurator  of  Judaea 
Procula,  His  Wife. 
Longinus,  A  Centurion. 
A  Jew,  Leader  of  the  Rabble. 
A  Madman. 
A  Sentry. 
Joseph  of  Ramah. 
Herod. 

Soldiers,  Servants,  the  Jewish  Rabble,  Loiterers, 
Idlers. 


THE  SCENE 

The  Pavement,  or  Paved  Court,  outside  the  Roman  Citadel  in 
Jerusalem.  At  the  back  is  the  barrack  wall,  pierced  in  the 
centre  with  a  double  bronze  door,  weathered  to  a  green  color. 
On  the  right  and  left  sides  of  the  stage  are  battlemented  parapets 
overlooking  the  city.  The  stage  or  pavement  is  approached  by 
stone  steps  from  the  front,  and  by  narrow  stone  staircases  in 
the  wings,  one  on  each  side,  well  forward.  These  steps  are  to 
suggest  that  the  citadel  is  high  up  above  the  town,  and  that  the 
main  barrack  gate  is  below.  The  Chief  Citizen,  The  Rab- 
ble, Joseph,  The  Madman,  Herod,  and  The  Loiterers, 
etc.,  enter  by  these  steps.  Pilate,  Procula,  Longinus,  The 
Soldiers  and  Servants  enter  by  the  bronze  doors. 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  DRAMATIC  POEM 

Pilate 
Longinus 

Longinus 
Lord. 

Pilate 
[Giving  scroll.]    Your  warrant.    Take  the  key. 
Go  to  Barabbas*  cell  and  set  him  free, 
The  mob  has  chosen  him. 

Longinus 
And  Jesus? 

Pilate 

Wait. 
He  can  be  scourged  and  put  outside  the  gate, 
With  warning  not  to  make  more  trouble  here. 
See  that  the  sergeant  be  not  too  severe. 
I  want  to  spare  him. 

Longinus 
And  the  Jew,  the  Priest, 

Pilate 


Outside  ? 

I'll  see  him  now. 


Longinus 
Passover  Feast. 
Always  brings  trouble,  Lord.    All  shall  be  done. 
Dismiss? 

[585! 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
Dismiss.    [Exit  Longinus.] 

There's  blood  about  the  sun, 
This  earthquake  weather  presses  on  the  brain. 

[Enter  Procula] 
You? 

Procula 
Dear,  forgive  me,  if  I  come  again 
About  this  Jesus,  but  I  long  to  know 
What  Herod  said.    Did  he  dismiss  him  ? 

Pilate 

No. 
He  sent  him  back  for  me  to  try, 
The  charge  being  local. 

Procula 
Have  you  tried  him? 

Pilate 

Ay, 
Henceforth  he  will  be  kept  outside  the  walls, 
Now,  listen,  wife:  whatever  dream  befalls, 
Never  again  send  word  to  me  in  Court 
To  interrupt  a  case.    The  Jews  made  sport 
Of  what  you  dreamed  and  what  you  bade  me  fear 
About  this  Jesus  man.    The  laws  are  clear. 
I  must  apply  them,  asking  nothing  more 
Than  the  proved  truth.    Now  tell  me  of  your  dream: 
What  was  it?    Tell  me  then. 

Procula 

I  saw  a  gleam 
Reddening  the  world  out  of  a  blackened  sky, 

[586] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Then  in  the  horror  came  a  hurt  thing's  cry- 
Protesting  to  the  death  what  no  one  heard. 

Pilate 
What  did  it  say? 

Procula 
A  cry,  no  spoken  word 
But  crying,  and  a  horror,  and  a  sense 
Of  one  poor  man's  naked  intelligence, 
Pitted  against  the  world  and  being  crushed. 
Then,  waking,  there  was  noise;  a  rabble  rushed 
Following  this  Jesus  here,  crying  for  blood, 
Like  beasts  half- reptile  in  a  jungle  mud. 
And  all  the  horror  threatening  in  the  dim, 
In  what  I  dreamed  of,  seemed  to  threaten  him.  . 
So  in  my  terror  I  sent  word  to  you, 
Begging  you  dearly  to  have  nought  to  do 
With  that  wise  man. 

Pilate 
I  grant  he  says  wise  things. 
Too  wise  by  half,  and  too  much  wisdom  brings 
Trouble,  I  find.    It  disagrees  with  men. 
We  must  protect  him  from  his  wisdom  then. 

Procula 
What  have  you  done  to  him  ? 

Pilate 
Made  it  more  hard 
For  him  to  wrangle  in  the  Temple  yard 
Henceforth,  I  hope. 

[Enter  Longinus] 
[587 1 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Procula 
You  have  not  punished  him? 

Pilate 
Warned  him. 

Longinus 
The  envoy  from  the  Sanhedrim 
Is  here,  my  lord. 

Pilate 

Go.     I  must  see  him.     Stay. 
You  and  your  women,  keep  within  to-day. 
It  is  the  Jewish  Feast  and  blood  runs  high 
Against  us  Romans  when  the  zealots  cry 
Songs  of  their  old  Deliverance  through  the  land. 
Stay,  yet.    Lord  Herod  says  that  he  has  planned 
To  visit  us  to-night,  have  all  prepared. 

Procula 
I  would  have  gone  to  Herod  had  I  dared, 
To  plead  for  this  man  Jesus.    All  shall  be 
Made  ready.    Dear,  my  dream  oppresses  me.    [Exit.] 

Pilate 
It  is  this  earthquake  weather:  it  will  end 
After  a  shock.    Farewell. 

[Enter  Chief  Citizen] 

Chief  Cit. 
Hail,  Lord  and  friend. 
I  come  about  a  man  in  bonds  with  you, 
One  Jesus,  leader  of  a  perverse  crew 
That  haunts  the  Temple. 

[588] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
Yes,  the  man  is  here. 

Chief  Cit. 
Charged  with  sedition? 

Pilate 
It  did  not  appear 
That  he  had  been  seditious.    It  was  proved 
That  he  had  mocked  at  rites  which  people  loved. 
No  more  than  that.    I  have  just  dealt  with  him. 
You  wish  to  see  him  ? 

Chief  Cit. 
No,  the  Sanhedrim 
Send  me  to  tell  you  of  his  proved  intent. 
You  know  how,  not  long  since,  a  prophet  went 
Through  all  Judaea  turning  people's  brains 
With  talk  of  One  coming  to  loose  their  chains? 

Pilate 
John  the  Baptiser  whom  old  Herod  killed. 

Chief  Cit. 
The  Jews  expect  that  word  to  be  fulfilled, 
They  think  that  One  will  come.    This  Jesus  claims 
To  be  that  Man,  Son  of  the  Name  of  Names, 
The  Anointed  King  who  will  arise  and  seize 
Israel  from  Rome  and  you.    Such  claims  as  these 
Might  be  held  mad  in  other  times  than  ours. 

Pilate 
He  is  not  mad. 

[S89I 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Chief  Cit. 
But  when  rebellion  lowers 
As  now,  from  every  hamlet,  every  farm, 
One  word  so  uttered  does  unreckoned  harm. 

Pilate 
How  do  you  know  this  ? 

Chief  Cit. 

From  a  man,  his  friend, 
Frightened  by  thought  of  where  such  claims  would  end. 
There  had  been  rumors,  yet  we  only  heard 
The  fact  but  now.    We  send  you  instant  word. 

Pilate 
Yes.    This  is  serious  news.    Would  I  had  known. 
But  none  the  less,  this  Jesus  is  alone. 
A  common  country  preacher,  as  men  say, 
No  more  than  that,  he  leads  no  big  array; 
No  one  believes  his  claim? 

Chief  Cit. 
At  present,  no. 
He  had  more  friends  a  little  while  ago, 
Before  he  made  these  claims  of  being  King. 

Pilate 
You  know  about  him  then? 

Chief  Cit. 

His  ministering 
Was  known  to  us,  of  course. 

Pilate 
And  disapproved? 

[590] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Chief  Cit. 
Not  wholly,  no;  some,  truly;  some  we  loved. 
At  first  he  only  preached.    He  preaches  well. 

Pilate 
What  of? 

Chief  Cit. 
Of  men,  and  of  escape  from  hell 
By  good  deeds  done.    But  when  he  learned  his  power 
And  flatterers  came,  then,  in  an  evil  hour, 
As  far  as  I  can  judge,  his  head  was  turned. 
A  few  days  past,  from  all  that  we  have  learned 
He  made  this  claim,  and  since  persists  therein. 
Deluders  are  best  checked  when  they  begin. 
So,  when  we  heard  it  from  this  frightened  friend, 
We  took  this  course  to  bring  it  to  an  end. 

Pilate 
Rightly.    I  thank  you.    Do  I  understand 
That  friends  have  fallen  from  him  since  he  planned 
To  be  this  King? 

Chief  Cit. 
They  have,  the  most  part. 

Pilate 

Why? 
What  makes  them  turn? 

Chief  Cit. 

The  claim  is  blasphemy 
Punished  by  death  under  the  Jewish  laws. 

[S9il 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
And  under  ours,  if  sufficient  cause 
Appear,  and  yet,  if  all  the  Jews  despise 
This  claimant's  folly,  would  it  nor  be  wise 
To  pay  no  heed,  not  make  important  one 
Whom  all  contemn? 

Chief  Cit. 
His  evil  is  not  done. 
His  claim  persists,  the  rabble's  mind  will  turn. 
Better  prevent  him,  Lord,  by  being  stern. 
The  man  has  power. 

Pilate 
That  is  true,  he  has. 

Chief  Citizen 
His  is  the  first  claim  since  the  Baptist  was, 
Better  not  let  it  thrive. 

Pilate 
It  does  not  thrive. 

Chief  Cit. 
All  ill  weeds  prosper,  Lord,  if  left  alive. 
The  soil  is  ripe  for  such  a  weed  as  this. 
The  Jews  await  a  message  such  as  his, 
The  Anointed  Man,  of  whom  our  Holy  Books 
Prophesy  much.    The  Jewish  people  looks 
For  Him  to  come. 

Pilate 
These  ancient  prophecies 
Are  drugs  to  keep  crude  souls  from  being  wise. 

[592] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Time  and  again  Rome  proves  herself  your  friend, 
Then  some  mad  writing  brings  it  to  an  end. 
Time  and  again,  until  my  heart  is  sick. 
Dead  prophets  spreading  madness  in  the  quick. 
And  now  this  Jesus  whom  I  hoped  to  save. 
Have  you  the  depositions? 


Chief  Cit. 

Yes,  I  have. 

Pilate 

Give  me. 

Chief  Cit. 

This  is  the  docquet. 

Pilate 

This  is  grave. 

Chief  Cit. 
I  thought  that  you  would  think  so. 

Pilate 

I  will  learn 
What  he  can  say  to  this  and  than  return. 
Wait.    I  must  speak.    Although  I  shall  not  spare 
Anyone,  man  or  woman,  who  may  dare 
To  make  a  claim  that  threatens  Roman  rule, 
I  do  not  plan  to  be  a  priestly  tool. 
I  know  your  Temple  plots;  pretend  not  here 
That  you,  the  priest,  hold  me,  the  Roman,  dear. 
You,  like  the  other  Jews,  await  this  King 
Who  is  to  set  you  free,  who  is  to  ding 
Rome  down  to  death,  as  your  priests'  brains  suppose. 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

This  case  of  Jesus  shows  it,  plainly  shows. 

He  and  his  claim  were  not  at  once  disowned; 

You  waited,  while  you  thought  "He  shall  be  throned, 

We  will  support  him,  if  he  wins  the  crowd." 

You  would  have,  too.    He  would  have  been  endowed 

With  all  your  power  to  support  his  claim 

Had  he  but  pleased  the  rabble  as  at  first. 

But,  since  he  will  not  back  the  priestly  aim, 

Nor  stoop  to  lure  the  multitude,  you  thirst 

To  win  my  favor  by  denouncing  him. 

This  rebel  does  not  suit  the  Sanhedrim. 

I  know.  .  .  .  The  next  one  may. 

Chief  Cit. 

You  wrong  us,  Sire. 

Pilate 
Unless  he  blench,  you  'complish  your  desite 
With  Jesus,  though;  there  is  no  king  save  Rome 
Here,  while  I  hold  the  reins.    Wait  till  I  come. 

[Exit  Pilate] 

The  Madman 
Only  a  penny,  a  penny, 
Lilies  brighter  than  any 
White  lilies  picked  for  the  Feast. 

[He  enters,  tapping  with  his  stick] 

I  am  a  poor  old  man  who  cannot  see, 
Will  the  great  noble  present  tell  to  me 
If  this  is  the  Paved  Court  ? 

Chief  Cit. 
It  is. 
[S94l 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Madman 

Where  men 
Beg  for  a  prisoner's  freedom? 

Chief  Cit. 
Yes.    What  then? 

Madman 
I  come  to  help  the  choosing. 

Chief  Cit. 
You  can  go. 

Madman 
Where,  lord? 

Chief  Cit. 
Why,  home.    You  hear  that  noise  below, 
Or  are  you  deaf? 

Madman 
No,  lordship,  only  blind. 

Chief  Cit. 
Come  this-d  ay-next-year  if  you  have  the  mind. 
This  year  you  come  too  late,  go  home  again. 

Madman 
Lord.    Is  the  prisoner  loosed? 

Chief  Cit. 

Yes,  in  the  lane. 
Can  you  not  hear  them  cry  "Barabbas"  there? 

Madman 
Barabbas,  Lord? 

[595] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Chief  Cit. 
The  prisoner  whom  they  bear 
In  triumph  home. 

Madman 
Barabbas? 

Chief  Cit. 

Even  he. 

Madman 
Are  not  you  wrong,  my  Lord? 

Chief  Cit. 

Why  should  I  be? 

Madman 
There  was  another  man  in  bonds,  most  kind 
To  me,  of  old,  who  suffer,  being  blind. 
Surely  they  called  for  him?    One  Jesus?    No? 

Chief  Cit. 
The  choice  was  made  a  little  while  ago. 
Barabbas  is  set  free,  the  man  you  name 
Is  not  to  be  released. 

Madman 

And  yet  I  came 
Hoping  to  see  him  loosed. 

Chief  Cit. 

He  waits  within 
Till  the  just  pain  is  fitted  to  his  sin. 
It  will  go  hard  with  him,  or  I  mistake. 
Pray  God  it  may. 

[596] 


God's  scathe. 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Madman 
I  sorrow  for  his  sake. 

Chief  Cit. 
[Enter  more  Jews] 


Madman 
A  penny  for  the  love  of  Heaven. 
A  given  penny  is  a  sin  forgiven. 
Only  a  penny,  friends. 

First  Cit. 
The  case  was  proved.     He  uttered  blasphemy. 
Yet  Pilate  gives  him  stripes:  the  man  should  die. 

Third  Cit. 
Wait  here  awhile.    It  is  not  over  yet. 
This  is  the  door,  the  man  shall  pay  his  debt. 
After  the  beating  they  will  let  him  go 
And  we  shall  catch  him. 

Second  Cit. 
We  will  treat  him  so 
That  he  will  not  be  eager  to  blaspheme 
So  glibly,  soon. 

Third  Cit. 
We  will. 

First  Cit. 
Did  Pilate  seem 
To  you,  to  try  to  spare  him  ? 

Second  Cit. 
Ay,  he  did, 
The  Roman  dog. 

[597] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Third  Cit. 
We  will  not. 

Second  Cit. 

God  forbid. 

First  Cit. 
Well,  we'll  stay  here. 

Second  Cit. 
We  will  anoint  this  King. 

Chief  Cit. 
You  talk  of  Jesus  ? 

First  Cit. 
Yes. 

Chief  Cit. 
I  had  to  bring 
News  from  the  Temple  but  a  minute  past, 
To-day  is  like  to  be  King  Jesus'  last. 

First  Cit. 
So? 

Chief  Cit. 
It  is  sure.    Wait  here  a  little  while. 

First  Cit. 
We  mean  to,  Lord.    His  tongue  shall  not  defile 
Our  Lord  again,  by  God. 

Chief  Cit. 

By  a  happy  chance 
There  came  a  hang-dog  man  with  looks  askance, 
Troubled  in  mind,  who  wished  to  speak  with  us. 
He  said  that  he  had  heard  the  man  speak  thus 
That  he  was  the  Messiah,  God  in  man. 

[S98] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

He  had  believed  this,  but  his  doubts  began 

When  Jesus,  not  content,  claimed  further  things; 

To  be  a  yoke  upon  the  necks  of  Kings, 

Emperor  and  Priest.    Then,  though  he  found  him  kind 

In  friendship,  he  was  troubled.    With  bowed  mind 

He  came  to  us  and  swore  what  Jesus  claimed. 

This  Emperor  over  Kings  will  now  be  tamed. 

Voices 
Will  Pilate  back  the  priests? 

Chief  Cit. 

He  cannot  fail. 
It  threatens  Roman  power. 

A  Voice 

Listen,  friends, 
Pilate  is  coming;  hark!  the  sitting  ends. 
No.    'Tis  the  Bench. 

[The  bench  is  set  by  Slaves] 

What  will  Lord  Pilate  do? 

[The  Slaves  do  not  answer] 

You  Nubian  eunuchs  answer  to  the  Jew. 
Is  the  man  cast? 

A  Slave 

The  circumcised  will  see 
When  Rome  is  ready. 

[Goes  in  and  shuts  the  door] 

A  Voice 
There.    They  nail  a  tree. 
They  make  a  cross,  for  those  are  spikes  being  driven. 
He's  damned. 

tS99l 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  Voice 
Not  so,  he  still  may  be  forgiven. 
The  cross  may  be  for  one  of  those  two  thieves. 

A  Voice 
I  had  forgotten  them. 

A  Voice 
This  man  believes 
That  Pilate  was  inclined  to  let  him  go. 

Second  Cit. 
That  was  before  this  charge  came. 

A  Voice 

Even  so 
This  Roman  swine  is  fond  of  swine  like  these. 

A  Voice 
Come,  Pilate,  come. 

A  Voice 

He  will  not  have  much  ease 
This  Paschal  Feast,  if  Jesus  is  not  cast. 

A  Voice 
There  is  the  door.    Lord  Pilate  comes  at  last. 
No.    'Tis  the  trumpet. 

[A  Trumpeter  comes  out] 

Voices 
Blow  the  trumpet,  friend. 

A  Voice 
Roman.    Recruit.    When  will  the  sitting  end  ? 

[600] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Voices 
Fling  something  at  him.    Roman. 

I  A  Voice 

O,  have  done. 
He  will  not  hang  until  the  midday  sun. 
And  we  shall  lose  our  sleeps.    Let  sentence  pass. 

A  Voice 
[Singing.]    As  I  came  by  the  market  I  heard  a  woman  sing: 
"My  love  did  truly  promise  to  wed  me  with  a  ring, 
But,  oh,  my  love  deceived  me  and  left  me  here  forlorn 
With  my  spirit  full  of  sorrow,  and  my  baby  to  be  born." 

A  Voice 
Why  are  you  standing  here  ? 

A  Voice 

I  came  to  see. 

A  Voice 
O,  did  you  so? 

A  Voice 

Why  do  you  look  at  me? 

A  Voice 
You  were  his  friend:  you  come  from  Galilee. 

A  Voice 
I  do  not. 

A  Voice 
Yes,  you  do. 

[601] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  Voice 
I  tell  you,  No. 

A  Voice 
You  know  this  man  quite  well. 

A  Voice 

I  do  not  know 
One  thing  about  him. 

A  Voice 
Does  he  know  the  cur? 

A  Voice 
Ay,  but  denies.    He  was  his  follower. 

A  Voice 
I  was  not. 

A  Voice 

Why,  I  saw  you  in  the  hall, 
I  watched  you. 

A  Voice 

I  was  never  there  at  all. 

A  Voice 
So  he  would  be  a  King. 

A  Voice 

That  was  the  plan. 

A  Voice 
I  swear  to  God  I  never  saw  the  man. 

A  Voice 
He  did;  you  liar;  fling  him  down  the  stair. 

[602] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  Voice 
I  did  not,  friends.    I  hate  the  man,  I  swear. 

Voices 
You  swear  too  much  for  truth,  down  with  him,  sons. 
Leave  him,  here's  Pilate. 

[Enter  Longinus  and  Soldiers] 

LONGINUS 

Stand  back.    Keep  further  back.    Get  down  the  stair, 
Stop  all  this  wrangling.    Make  less  babble  there. 
Keep  back  yet  further.    See  you  keep  that  line. 
Silence.    These  Jewish  pigs. 

The  Jews 

The  Roman  swine. 
[Enter  Pilate] 

Pilate 
Longinus. 

Longinus 
Lord. 

Pilate 
No  Jew  here  thinks  him  King. 
They  want  his  blood. 

Longinus 
They  would  want  anything 
That  would  beguile  the  hours  until  the  Feast. 

Pilate 
I  would  be  glad  to  disappoint  the  priest. 

[603] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

I  like  this  Jesus  man.    A  man  so  wise 
Ought  not  to  end  through  crazy  prophecies. 
Still,  he  persists. 

Longinus 
They  are  a  stubborn  breed. 
The  medicine  Cross  is  what  they  mostly  need. 

Pilate 
Still,  this  man  is,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  king, 
A  God  beside  these  beasts  who  spit  and  sting, 
The  best  Jew  I  have  known. 

Longinus 

He  had  his  chance. 

Pilate 
O,  yes?  he  had.    We'll  let  the  Jews  advance 
Into  the  court.    I  tried  to  set  him  free. 
Still,  if  he  will  persist,  the  thing  must  be. 
And  yet  I  am  sorry. 

Longinus 
I  am  sorry,  too. 
He  seemed  a  good  brave  fellow,  for  a  Jew. 
Still,  when  a  man  is  mad  there  is  no  cure 
But  death,  like  this. 

Pilate 


I  fear 


so. 


Shall  I  begin? 


Longinus 

I  am  sure. 

[6o4] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
Yes. 

LONGINUS 

Sound  the  Assembly.    [Trumpet.] 

Sound 
The  Imperial  call.    [Trumpet] 

Pilate 
You  people,  gathered  round, 
Behold  your  King. 

Voices 
Our  King.     I  see  him.    Where? 
That  heap  of  clothes  behind  the  soldiers  there. 
He  has  been  soundly  beaten.    Look,  he  bleeds. 
A  cross  on  Old  Skull  Hill  is  what  he  needs. 

Pilate 
What  would  you,  then,  that  I  should  do  to  him? 

Voices 
Stone  the  blasphemer,  tear  him  limb  from  limb, 
Kill  him  with  stones,  he  uttered  blasphemy, 
Give  him  to  us,  for  us  to  crucify. 
Crucify! 

Pilate 

Would  you  crucify  your  King  ? 

Voices 
He  is  no  King  of  ours;  we  have  no  King 
But  Caesar.    Crucify! 

Pilate 

Bring  pen  and  ink. 
[6oS] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 
LONGINUS 

Hold  up  the  prisoner,  Lucius;  give  him  drink. 

Pilate 
I  come  to  sentence. 

Servant 
Writing  things,  my  lord. 

Pilate 
Fasten  the  parchment  to  the  piece  of  board. 
So.    I  will  write. 

Voices 
What  does  his  writing  mean? 
It  is  the  sentence  of  this  Nazarene, 
Condemning  him  to  death.    A  little  while 
And  he'll  be  ours.     See  Lord  Pilate  smile. 
Why  does  he  smile? 

Pilate 
Longinus. 

Longinus 

Lord. 
Pilate 

Come  here. 
Go  to  that  man,  that  upland  targeteer, 
I  want  this  writ  in  Hebrew.     Bid  him  write 
Big  easy  letters  that  will  catch  the  sight. 

Longinus 
I  will,  my  lord.    Make  way. 

[Exit  Longinus] 
[606] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  Voice 

What's  on  the  scroll? 

A  Voice 
It  gives  the  prisoner  into  his  control 
To  nail  to  death,  the  foul  blaspheming  beast. 

A  Voice 
D'you  think  he  will  be  dead  before  the  Feast  ? 

A  Voice 
They'll  spear  him  if  he  lingers  until  dark. 

A  Voice 
When  Feast  begins  he  will  be  stiff  and  stark. 
There's  little  life  in  him  as  it  is. 

Voices 
We'll  hammer  iron  through  those  hands  of  his, 
And  through  his  feet,  and  when  the  cross  is  set 
Jolt  it;  remember.    I  will  not  forget. 

A  Voice 
Here  comes  the  sentence. 

[Enter  Longinus] 

A  Voice 

Wait;  it  is  not  signed. 

A  Voice 
Come  to  the  hill,  you  will  be  left  behind. 
I  want  a  good  place  at  the  cross's  foot. 

[607] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  Voice 
I've  got  a  stone  for  when  they  move  the  brute. 
Besides,  I  mean  to  bait  him  on  the  way. 
I'll  spatter  him  with  filth. 

A  Voice 

No,  come  away. 

Pilate 
Imperial  finding  in  the  High  Priest's  suit. 
In  the  name  of  Caesar  and  of  Rome.  .  .  . 


Longinus 

Pilate 
I,  Procurator  of  Judaea,  say 
That  Jesus,  called  the  King,  be  led  away 
To  death  by  crucifixion,  here  and  now. 
In  the  name  of  Caesar  and  of  Rome.  .  .  . 

Longinus 


Salute. 


We  bow 


To  the  sentence  of  the  court. 

Pilate 

See  sentence  done. 
This  is  your  warrant. 

Longinus 
Sentence  shall  be  done. 

Voices 
Away,  friends,  hurry.    Keep  a  place  for  me. 
Get  there  before  they  come,  then  we  shall  see 
All  of  the  nailing  and  the  fixing  on. 

[608] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
Longinus. 

Longinus 
Lord. 

Pilate 
Display  this  scroll  upon 
The  head  of  Jesus'  cross,  that  men  may  read. 
Wait;  I'll  declare  it  publicly.     Take  heed.  .  .  . 
I  add  this  word,  that  over  Jesus'  head 
This  scroll  shall  be  displayed  till  he  is  dead. 
Show  it,  Longinus.     Read  it  if  you  choose. 

Voices 
"Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews." 
We'll  make  him  King,  we'll  set  him  up  in  state. 
At  Golgotha.    Come;  drag  him  through  the  gate. 
Give  him  his  cross.    Come,  soldiers. 

Chief  Cit. 

Israel,  wait. 
Wait.    I  must  speak.    Lord  Pilate. 

Voices 

Stand  aside.  .  . 
Are  we  to  miss  his  being  crucified  ? 

Chief  Cit. 
Wait.    Only  wait.    One  word. 

Madman 

Lord  Pilate.     Lord. 

Sentry 


Stand  back. 


[609] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Madman 
I'll  speak. 

Sentry 
I'll  tame  you  with  the  sword. 

Madman 
Lord  Pilate,  Jesus  is  an  upright  man, 
I  heard  his  teaching  since  it  first  began. 
You  are  mistaken,  Lord,  you  are  misled. 
Spare  him,  great  King. 

Sentry 
Get  down. 

Madman 

Kill  me  instead. 
He  never  said  this  thing.    [He  is  beaten  aside.] 

Longinus 

The  company, 
Attention.    Front.    Take  up  the  prisoner.    By 

The  left,  quick  wheel.    Down  to  the  courtyard,  wheel. 

[The  Troops  go  out  by  the  doors,  into  the  barracks,  so  as  to 
reach  the  main  gate  from  within.  The  Prisoner  is  not 
shown,  but  only  suggested.] 

A  Voice 

He  cannot  lift  his  cross,  I  saw  him  reel. 

A  Voice 
We'll  find  a  man  to  bring  it.    Hurry,  friends. 
Three  to  be  nailed. 

[610] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  Voice 
The  thieves  will  make  good  ends; 
They  always  do.    This  fellow  will  die  soon. 

A  Voice 
The  troops  will  spear  them  all  before  full  moon. 
Come;  watch  them  march  them  out. 

Get  mud  to  fling. 

[They  hurry  down  the  staircase  0.  P.  side] 

Chief  Cit. 
[To  Pilate.]    Lord  Pilate,  do  not  write  "Jesus  the  King," 
But  that  "He  called  himself,  'Jesus  the  King.'" 

Pilate 
Empty  this  water  here.    [Servant  does  ] 

Remove  this  board. 
Take  in  the  bench. 

Chief  Cit. 
I  have  to  ask,  my  lord, 
That  you  will  change  the  wording  of  your  scroll, 
My  lord,  it  cuts  my  people  to  the  soul. 

Pilate 
Tell  Caius  Scirrus  that  I  want  him.    [Exit  Servant.] 
So     [To  Chief  Citizen.] 
What  I  have  written,  I  have  written.    Go. 

[Exit  Chief  Citizen.  Pilate  watches  him.  A  yell  below  as 
the  Troops  march  out  from  the  main  gate.  Longinus* 
voice  is  heard  shouting.] 

[611] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

LONGINUS 
Right  wheel.    Quick  march. 
Close  up.    Keep  your  files  close. 

[A  march  is  played,  oboe  and  trumpet.  Pilate  goes  in,  the 
Troops  salute,  the  bronze  doors  are  closed,  but  a  Sentry 
stands  outside  them.    The  Madman  remains. 

Madman 
They  cut  my  face,  there's  blood  upon  my  brow. 
So,  let  it  run,  I  am  an  old  man  now, 
An  old,  blind  beggar  picking  filth  for  bread. 
Once  I  wore  silk,  drank  wine, 
Spent  gold  on  women,  feasted,  all  was  mine; 
But  this  uneasy  current  in  my  head 
Burst,  one  full  moon,  and  cleansed  me,  then  I  saw 
Truth  like  a  perfect  crystal,  life  its  flaw, 
I  told  the  world,  but  I  was  mad,  they  said. 

I  had  a  valley  farm  above  a  brook, 

My  sheep  bells  there  were  sweet, 

And  in  the  summer  heat 

My  mill  wheels  turned,  yet  all  these  things  they  took; 

Ah,  and  I  gave  them,  all  things  I  forsook 

But  that  green  blade  of  wheat, 

My  own  soul's  courage,  that  they  did  not  take. 

I  will  go  on,  although  my  old  heart  ache. 

Not  long,  not  long. 

Soon  I  shall  pass  behind 

This  changing  veil  to  that  which  does  not  change, 

My  tired  feet  will  range 

[612I 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

In  some  green  valley  of  eternal  mind 
Where  Truth  is  daily  like  the  water's  song. 

[Enter  the  Chief  Citizen] 

Chief  Cit. 
Where  is  Lord  Pilate? 

Madman 
Gone    within. 

Chief  Cit. 

You  heard 
The  way  he  spoke  to  me? 

Madman 

No,  not  a  word. 

The  dogs  so  bayed  for  blood,  I  could  not  hear. 

Ask  the  tall  sentry  yonder  with  the  spear. 

Chief  Cit. 
I  wish  to  see  Lord  Pilate. 

Sentry 
Stand  aside. 

Chief  Cit. 
Send  word  to  him;  I  cannot  be  denied. 
I  have  to  see  him;  it  concerns  the  State 
Urgently,  too,  I  tell  you. 

Sentry 
It  can  wait. 

Chief  Cit. 
It  may  mean  bloodshed. 

[613] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Sentry 
Bloodshed  is  my  trade. 
A  sentry's  orders  have  to  be  obeyed 
The  same  as  God's,  that  you  were  talking  of. 

Chief  Cit. 
I  tell  you,  I  must  see  him. 

Sentry 
That's  enough. 
You  cannot  now. 

Madman 
The  soldier's  words  are  true. 

Chief  Cit. 
Could  you  send  word? 

Sentry 
Sir,  I  have  answered  you. 

Chief  Cit. 
Those  words  that  Pilate  wrote,  the  Hebrew  screed, 
May  cause  a  riot. 

Madman 
Yes? 

Chief  Cit. 
And  death. 

Sentry 

Indeed. 
You  got  the  poor  man's  life,  what  would  you  more? 

Chief  Cit. 
Means  to  see  Pilate. 

[6i4] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Sentry 
As  I  said  before, 
You  cannot.    Stand  away.    A  man  like  you 
Ought  to  know  better  than  to  lead  a  crew 
To  yell  for  a  man's  blood.    God  stop  my  breath, 
What  does  a  man  like  you  with  blood  and  death? 
Go  to. 

Chief  Cit. 
You  will  not  send  ? 

Sentry 
I  will  not  send. 

Chief  Cit. 
[Going.]    You  shall  regret  this. 

Sentry 

Right.    Goodbye,  my  friend. 

Chief  Cit. 
Means  will  be  found.     [Exit.] 

Sentry 
These  pr'ests,  these  preaching  folk.     [Pause.  Sings.] 
"Upon  a  summer  morning,  I  bade  my  love  goodbye, 
In  the  old  green  glen  so  far  away, 
To  go  to  be  a  soldier  on  biscuits  made  of  rye." 

It  is  darker  than  it  was. 

Madman 
It  is  falling  dark. 

Sentry 
It  feels  like  earthquake  weather.     Listen. 

[6iS] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Madman 

Hark. 
Sentry 

It  sounded  like  a  shock  inside  the  walls. 

Madman 
God  celebrates  the  madman's  funerals. 

Sentry 
The  shouts  came  from  the  Temple. 

Madman 

Yes,  they  sing 
Glory  to  God  there,  having  killed  their  King. 

Sentry 
You  knew  that  man  they  are  hanging? 

Madman 

Yes.    Did  you? 
Sentry 
Not  till  I  saw  him  scourged.    Was  he  a  Jew? 

Madman 
No.    Wisdom  comes  from  God,  and  he  was  wise. 
I  have  touched  wisdom  since  they  took  my  eyes. 

Sentry 
So  you  were  blinded?    Why? 

Madman 

Thinking  aloud, 
One  Passover. 

[616] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Sentry 
How  so? 

Madman 

I  told  the  crowd 
That  only  a  bloody  God  would  care  for  blood. 
The  crowd  kill  kids  and  smear  the  lintel  wood, 
To  honor  God,  who  lives  in  the  pure  stars. 

Sentry 
You  must  have  suffered;  they  are  angry  scars. 

Madman 
There  is  no  scar  inside. 

Sentry 

That  may  be  so; 
Still,  it  was  mad;  men  do  not  wish  to  know 
The  truth  about  their  customs,  nor  aught  else.     [Cries  off.] 

Madman 
They  have  nailed  the  teacher  Jesus  by  those  yells. 

Sentry 
It  is  darker.    There'll  be  earthquake  before  night. 
What  sort  of  man  was  he? 

Madman 
He  knew  the  right 
And  followed  her,  a  stony  road,  to  this. 

Sentry 
I  find  sufficient  trouble  in  what  is 
Without  my  seeking  what  is  right  or  wrong. 

[617] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Madman 
All  have  to  seek  her,  and  the  search  is  long. 

Sentry 
Maybe. 

Madman 
And  hard. 

Sentry 
Maybe.     [Pause.    Sings.] 
"I  mean  to  be  a  captain  before  I  do  return, 
Though  the  winters  they  may  freeze  and  the  summers  they 

may  burn, 
I  mean  to  be  a  captain  and  command  a  hundred  men 
And  the  women  who  .  .  ."    [A  bugle  call  off.] 
There  is  recall. 

[The  doors  are  opened  and  the  Sentry  goes] 

Madman 
The  wild-duck,  stringing  through  the  sky, 
Are  south  away. 

Their  green  necks  glitter  as  they  fly, 
The  lake  is  gray, 

So  still,  so  lone,  the  fowler  never  heeds. 
The  wind  goes  rustle,  rustle,  through  the  reeds. 


There  they  find  peace  to  have  their  own  wild  souls. 

In  that  still  lake, 

Only  the  moonrise  or  the  wind  controls 

The  way  they  take, 

[618] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Through  the  gray  reeds,  the  cocking  moorhen's  lair, 
Rippling  the  pool,  or  over  leagues  of  air. 

***** 

Not  thus,  not  thus  are  the  wild  souls  of  men. 

No  peace  for  those 

Who  step  beyond  the  blindness  of  the  pen 

To  where  the  skies  unclose. 

For  them  the  spitting  mob,  the  cross,  the  crown  of  thorns, 

The  bull  gone  mad,  the  saviour  on  his  horns. 


Beauty  and  Peace  have  made 

No  peace,  no  still  retreat, 

No  solace,  none. 

Only  the  unafraid 

Before  life's  roaring  street 

Touch  Beauty's  feet, 

Know  Truth,  do  as  God  bade, 

Become  God's  son.  [Pause.] 

Darkness  come  down,  cover  a  brave  man's  pain. 

Let  the  bright  soul  go  back  to  God  again. 

Cover  that  tortured  flesh,  it  only  serves 

To  hold  that  thing  which  other  power  nerves. 

Darkness,  come  down,  let  it  be  midnight  here, 

In  the  dark  night  the  untroubled  soul  sings  clear.    [It  darkens. 

I  have  been  scourged,  blinded  and  crucified, 
My  blood  burns  on  the  stones  of  every  street 
In  every  town;  wherever  people  meet 
I  have  been  hounded  down,  in  anguish  died.     [It  darkens.] 
The  creaking  door  of  flesh  rolls  slowly  back. 

[619] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Nerve  by  red  nerve  the  links  of  living  crack, 
Loosing  the  soul  to  tread  another  track. 

Beyond  the  pain,  beyond  the  broken  clay, 

A  glimmering  country  lies 

Where  life  is  being  wise, 

All  of  the  beauty  seen  by  truthful  eyes 

Are  lilies  there,  growing  beside  the  way. 

Those  golden  ones  will  loose  the  torted  hands, 

Smooth  the  scarred  brow,  gather  the  breaking  soul, 

Whose  earthly  moments  drop  like  falling  sands 

To  leave  the  spirit  whole. 

Now  darkness  is  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.     [He  goes.] 

[Pilate  entering,  as  the  darkness  reddens  to  a  glare] 

Pilate 
This  monstrous  day  is  in  the  pangs  of  birth. 
There  was  a  shock.    I  wish  the  troops  were  back 
From  Golgotha.    The  heavens  are  more  black 
Than  in  the  great  shock  in  my  first  year's  rule. 
Please  God  these  zealot  pilgrims  will  keep  cool 
Nor  think  this  done  by  God  for  any  cause. 
The  lightning  jags  the  heaven  in  bloody  scraws 
Like  chronicles  of  judgment.    Now  it  breaks. 
Now  rain. 


[Entering.]    O  Pilate. 

What? 

For  all  our  sakes 
Speak.    Where  is  Jesus? 


Procula 

Pilate 

Procula 

620] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
He  is  crucified. 

Procula 
Crucified  ? 

Pilate 
Put  to  death.    My  wife,  I  tried 
To  save  him,  but  such  men  cannot  be  saved. 
Truth  to  himself  till  death  was  all  he  craved. 
He  has  his  will. 

Procula 
So  what  they  said  is  true. 
O  God,  my  God.    But  when  I  spoke  to  you 
You  said  that  you  had  warned  him. 

Pilate 

That  is  so. 
Another  charge  was  brought  some  hours  ago, 
That  he  was  claiming  to  be  that  great  King 
Foretold  by  prophets,  who  shall  free  the  Jews. 
This  he  persisted  in.    I  could  not  choose 
But  end  a  zealot  claiming  such  a  thing. 

Procula 
He  was  no  zealot. 

Pilate 
Yes,  on  this  one  point. 
Had  he  recanted,  well.    But  he  was  firm. 
So  he  was  cast. 

Procula 
The  gouts  of  gore  anoint 
That  temple  to  the  service  of  the  worm. 

[621] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

It  is  a  desecration  of  our  power. 

A  rude  poor  man  who  pitted  his  pure  sense 

Against  what  holds  the  world  its  little  hour, 

Blind  force  and  fraud,  priests'  mummery  and  pretence, 

Could  you  not  see  that  this  is  what  he  did  ? 

Pilate 
Most  clearly,  wife.    But  Roman  laws  forbid 
That  I  should  weigh,  like  God,  the  worth  of  souls. 
I  act  for  Rome,  and  Rome  is  better  rid 
Of  these  rare  spirits  whom  no  law  controls. 
He  broke  a  statute,  knowing  from  the  first 
Whither  his  act  would  lead,  he  was  not  blind. 

Procula 
No,  friend,  he  followed  hungry  and  athirst 
The  lonely  exaltation  of  his  mind. 
So  Rome,  our  mother,  profits  by  his  death, 
You  think  so? 

Pilate 
Ay. 

Procula 
We  draw  securer  breath, 
We  Romans,  from  his  gasping  on  the  cross? 

Pilate 
Some  few  will  be  the  calmer  for  his  loss. 
Many,  perhaps;  he  made  a  dangerous  claim. 
Even  had  I  spared  it  would  have  been  the  same 
A  year,  or  two,  from  now.    Forget  him,  friend. 

[622] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Procula 
I  have  no  part  nor  parcel  in  his  end. 
Rather  than  have  it  thought  I  buy  my  ease, 
My  body's  safety,  honor,  dignities, 
Life  and  the  rest  at  such  a  price  of  pain 
There  [she  stabs  her  arm  with  her  dagger]  is  my  blood,  to  wash 

away  the  stain. 
There.    There  once  more.    It  fetched  too  dear  a  price. 
O  God,  receive  that  soul  in  paradise. 

Pilate 
What  have  you  done? 

Procula 
No  matter;  it  atones. 
His  blood  will  clamor  from  the  city  stones. 

Pilate 
Go  in.     No,  let  me  bind  it. 

Procula 

Someone  comes. 
A  councillor,  I  think.    Ask  what  he  wants. 

[Enter  Joseph] 

Joseph 
Greetings,  Lord  Pilate. 

Pilate 
And  to  you. 

Joseph 
[To  Procula.]  And  you. 

[To  Pilate.]    I  have  a  boon  to  ask. 

[623] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Procula 

What  can  we  do? 

Joseph 
Lord  Pilate,  may  I  speak? 

Pilate 
[To  Procula.]    Go  in.    [She  goes  in.]    Go  on  [to  Joseph]. 

Joseph 
The  man  called  Christ,  the  follower  of  John, 
Was  crucified  to-day  by  your  decree. 
[Pilate  bows.]    He  was  my  master,  very  dear  to  me. 
I  will  not  speak  of  that.    I  only  crave 
Leave  to  prepare  his  body  for  the  grave, 
And  then  to  bury  him.    May  I  have  leave? 

Pilate 
Yes,  you  may  have  him  when  the  guards  give  leave. 
Wait.    In  a  case  like  this,  men  may  believe 
That  the  dead  master  is  not  really  dead. 
This  preaching  man,  this  King,  has  been  the  head 
Of  men  who  may  be  good  and  mean  no  harm, 
Whose  tenets,  none  the  less,  have  caused  alarm 
First  to  the  priests,  and  through  the  priests  to  me. 
I  wish  this  preacher's  followers  to  see 
That  teaching  of  this  kind  is  to  be  curbed. 
I  mean,  established  truths  may  be  disturbed, 
But  not  the  Jews,  nor  Rome.    You  understand  ? 

Joseph 
I  follow;  yes. 

[624] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
A  riot  might  be  fanned, 
Such  things  have  been,  over  the  martyrs  grave. 

Joseph 
His  broken  corpse  is  all  his  followers  crave. 

Pilate 
Why,  very  well  then. 

Joseph 
Will  you  give  your  seal? 

Pilate 
My  seal?    What  for? 

Joseph 
That  I  may  show  the  guard 
And  have  the  body. 

Pilate 
Gladly;  but  I  feel  .  .  . 
Not  yet;  not  until  dark. 

Joseph 
It  will  be  hard 
To  bury  him  to-night  .  .  .  the  feast  begins. 

Pilate 
I  know,  but  still,  when  men  are  crucified  .  .  . 

Joseph 
There  is  no  hope  of  that.    The  man  has  died. 

Pilate 
Died?    Dead  already? 

[625] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Joseph 
Yes. 

Pilate 

'Tis  passing  soon. 

Joseph 
God  broke  that  bright  soul's  body  as  a  boon. 
He  died  at  the  ninth  hour. 

Pilate 
Are  you  sure? 

Joseph 
I  saw  him,  Lord. 

Pilate 
I  thought  he  would  endure 
Longer  than  that;  he  had  a  constant  mind. 

Joseph 
The  great  soul  burns  the  body  to  a  rind. 

Pilate 
But  dead,  already;  strange;  strange.     [Calling.] 

You  in  the  court, 
Send  me  Longinus  here  with  his  report. 

A  Voice 
I  will,  my  lord. 

Pilate 

This  teacher  was  your  friend? 

[626] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Joseph 
Was,  is,  and  will  be,  till  the  great  world  end; 
Which  God  grant  may  be  soon. 

Pilate 

I  disagree 
With  teachers  of  new  truth.    For  men  like  me 
There  is  but  one  religion,  which  is  Rome. 
No  easy  one  to  practise,  far  from  home. 
You  come  from  Ram  ah? 

Joseph 
Yes. 


Of  olives  being  good  ? 


Pilate 

What  chance  is  there 

Joseph 
They  should  be  fair. 


Pilate 
You  will  not  use  Italian  presses?    No? 

Joseph 
Man  likes  his  own,  my  lord,  however  slow; 
What  the  land  made,  we  say,  it  ought  to  use. 

Pilate 
Your  presses  waste;  oil  is  too  good  to  lose. 
But  I  shall  not  persuade. 

Servant 
Longinus,  lord. 

[627] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
Make  your  report,  centurion.    Where's  your  sword? 
What  makes  you  come  thus  jangled?    Are  you  ill? 

Longinus 
There  was  a  shock  of  earthquake  up  the  hill. 
I  have  been  shaken.     I  had  meant  to  come 
Before;  but  I  was  whirled  .  .  .  was  stricken  dumb. 
I  left  my  sword  within.  .  .  . 

Pilate 

Leave  it.    Attend. 
Is  the  man,  Jesus,  dead  ?    This  is  his  friend 
Who  wants  to  bury  him,  he  says  he  is. 

Longinus 
Jesus  is  out  of  all  his  miseries. 
Yes,  he  is  dead,  my  lord. 

Pilate 

Already  ? 

Longinus 

Yes. 
The  men  who  suffer  most  endure  the  less. 
He  died  without  our  help. 

Joseph 

Then  may  I  have 
His  body,  Lord,  to  lay  it  in  the  grave? 

Pilate 
A  sentry's  there? 

[6*81 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

LONGINUS 
Yes,  Lord. 

Pilate 

Have  you  a  scroll? 
[Takes  paper.]     Right.     Now  some  wax.       [Writes.] 

Give  into  his  control 
The  body  of  the  teacher;  see  it  laid 
Inside  the  tomb  and  see  the  doorway  made 
Secure  with  stones  and  sealed,  then  bring  me  word. 
This  privilege  of  burial  is  conferred 
On  the  conditions  I  have  named  to  you. 
See  you  observe  them  strictly. 

Joseph 
I  will  do 
All  that  himself  would  ask  to  show  my  sense 
Of  this  last  kindness.    I  shall  go  from  hence 
Soon,  perhaps  far;  I  give  you  thanks,  my  lord. 
Now  the  last  joy  the  niggard  fates  afford; 
One  little  service  more,  and  then  an  end 
Of  that  divineness  touched  at  through  our  friend.    [Exit.] 

Pilate 
See  that  the  tomb  is  sealed  by  dark  to-night. 
Where  were  you  hurt,  Longinus?    You  are  white. 
What  happened  at  the  cross? 

Longinus 

We  nailed  him  there 
Aloft,  between  the  thieves,  in  the  bright  air. 

[629] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

The  rabble  and  the  readers  mocked  with  oaths, 
The  hangman's  squad  were  dicing  for  his  clothes. 
The  two  thieves  jeered  at  him.    Then  it  grew  dark, 
Till  the  noon  sun  was  dwindled  to  a  spark, 
And  one  by  one  the  mocking  mouths  fell  still. 
We  were  alone  on  the  accursed  hill 
And  we  were  still,  not  even  the  dice  clicked, 
Only  the  heavy  blood-gouts  dropped  and  ticked 
On  to  the  stone;  the  hill  is  all  bald  Stone. 
And  now  and  then  the  hangers  gave  !a  groan. 
Up  in  the  dark,  three  shapes  with  arms  outspread. 
The  blood-drops  spat  to  show  how  slow  they  bled. 
They  rose  up  black  against  the  ghastly  sky, 
God,  Lord,  it  is  a  slow  way  to  make  die 
A  man,  a  strong  man,  who  can  beget  men. 
Then  there  would  come  another  groan,  and  then 
One  of  those  thieves  (tough  cameleers  those  two) 
Would  curse  the  teacher  from  lips  bitten  through 
And  the  other  bid  him  let  the  teacher  be. 
I  have  stood  much,  but  this  thing  daunted  me, 
The  dark,  the  livid  light,  and  long  long  groans 
One  on  another,  coming  from  their  bones. 
And  it  got  darker  and  a  glare  began 
Like  the  sky  burning  up  above  the  man. 
The  hangman's  squad  stood  easy  on  their  spears 
And  the  air  moaned,  and  women  were  in  tears, 
While  still  between  his  groans  the  robber  cursed. 
The  sky  was  grim:  it  seemed  about  to  burst. 
Hours  had  passed:  they  seemed  like  awful  days. 
Then  .  .  .  what  was  that? 

Pilate 

What?     Where? 
[630] 


A  kind  of  blaze, 


GOOD  FRIDAY 
LONGINUS 

Fire  descending. 

Pilate 
No. 

LONGINUS 

I  saw  it. 

Pilate 

Yes? 
What  was  it  that  you  saw? 

Longinus 
A  fiery  tress 
Making  red  letters  all  across  the  heaven. 
Lord  Pilate,  pray  to  God  we  be  forgiven. 

Pilate 
"The  sky  was  grim,,,  you  said,  there  at  the  cross. 
What  happened  next? 

Longinus 
The  towers  bent  like  moss 
Under  the  fiery  figures  from  the  sky. 
Horses  were  in  the  air,  there  came  a  cry. 
Jesus  was  calling  God:  it  struck  us  dumb. 
One  said  "He  is  calling  God.    Wait.    Will  God  come? 
Wait.,,    And  we  listened  in  the  glare.    O  sir, 
He  was  God's  son,  that  man,  that  minister, 
For  as  he  called,  fire  tore  the  sky  in  two, 
The  sick  earth  shook  and  tossed  the  cross  askew, 
The  earthquake  ran  like  thunder,  the  earth's  bones 
Broke,  the  graves  opened,  there  were  falling  stones. 

[631] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Pilate 
I  felt  the  shock  even  here.    So? 

Longinus 

Jesus  cried 
Once  more  and  drooped,  I  saw  that  he  had  died. 
Lord,  in  the  earthquake  God  had  come  for  him. 
The  thought  of  't  shakes  me  sick,  my  eyes  are  dim. 

Pilate 
Tell  Scirrus  to  relieve  you. 

Longinus 
Lord.  .  .  . 

Pilate 

Dismiss. 
Lie  down  and  try  to  sleep;  forget  all  this. 
Tell  Scirrus  I  command  it.    Rest  to-night. 
Go  in,  Longinus,  go. 

Longinus 
Thank  you,  Lord  Pilate. 
[Exit  Longinus] 

Pilate 
[Alone.]    No  man  can  stand  an  earthquake.    Men  can  bear 
Tumults  of  water  and  of  fire  and  air, 
But  not  of  earth,  man's  grave  and  standing  ground; 
When  that  begins  to  heave  the  will  goes  round. 
Longinus,  too.    [Noise  below.]    Listen. 

Does  Herod  come? 
I  heard  his  fifes. 

[632] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 
[The  doors  open.    Servants  enter] 

Servant 
Lord  Herod  is  at  hand; 
Will  it  please  your  Lordship  robe? 

Pilate 

Sprinkle  fresh  sand, 
For  blood  was  shed  to-day,  here,  under  foot.  [He  robes.] 
Well,  that;  the  other  clasp.    [Music  off.] 

A  Voice 
Cohort.     Salute. 

Pilate 
Leave  torches  at  the  door.    Dismiss.     [Servants  go.] 

He  comes 
Welcomed  by  everyone;  the  city  hums 
With  joy  when  Herod  passes.    Ah,  not  thus 
Do  I  go  through  the  town.    They  welcome  us 
With  looks  of  hate,  with  mutterings,  curses,  stones. 

[Enter  Procula] 

Come,  stand  with  me.    Welcome  Lord  Herod  here. 
Welcome  must  make  amends  for  barrack  cheer. 

[The  Nubians  hold  torches  at  the  door] 

Herod  enters] 

Come  in,  good  welcome,  Herod. 

Procula 

Welcome,  sir. 

[633I 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Herod 
To  Rome,  to  Pilate,  and  to  Beauty,  greeting; 
Give  me  your  hands.    What  joy  is  in  this  meeting. 
Pilate,  again.    You,  you  have  hurt  your  hand  ? 

Pilate 
It  is  nothing,  sir. 

Herod 
Beauty  has  touched  this  land, 
A  wound  has  followed. 

Procula 
What  you  please  to  call 
Beauty,  my  lord,  did  nothing  of  the  kind. 
An  earthen  vessel  tilted  with  a  wall. 

Herod 
May  it  soon  mend.    Now  let  me  speak  my  mind. 
Pilate,  since  you  have  ruled  here,  there  have  been 
Moments  of  .  .  .  discord,  shall  we  say?  between 
Your  government  and  mine.    I  am  afraid 
That  I,  the  native  here,  have  seldom  made 
Efforts  for  friendship  with  you. 

Pilate 
Come. 

Herod 

I  should 
Have  done  more  than  I  have,  done  all  I  could, 
Healed  the  raw  wound  between  the  land  and  Rome, 
Helped  you  to  make  this  hellish  town  a  home, 
Not  left  it,  as  I  fear  it  has  been,  hell 
To  you  and  yours  cooped  in  a  citadel 

[634] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Above  rebellion  brewing.    For  the  past 

I  offer  deep  regret,  grief  that  will  last, 

And  shame;  your  generous  mind  leaves  me  ashamed. 

Pilate 
Really,  my  lord. 

Procula 
These  things  must  not  be  named. 

Pilate 
It  is  generous  of  you  to  speak  like  this, 
But,  Herod,  hark. 

Procula 
If  things  have  been  amiss, 
The  fault  was  ours. 

Herod 
No,  the  fault  was  mine. 
Your  generous  act  this  morning  was  a  sign 
Of  scrupulous  justice  done  to  me  by  you 
For  all  these  years,  unnoticed  hitherto, 
Unrecognized,  unthanked.    I  thank  you  now. 
Give  me  your  hand  .  .  .  so  .  .  .  thus. 

Pilate 

Herod,  I  bow 
To  what  you  say.    To  think  that  I  have  done 
Something  (I  know  not  what)  that  has  begun 
A  kindlier  bond  between  us,  touches  home. 
I  have  long  grieved  lest  I  have  injured  Rome 
By  failing  towards  yourself,  where  other  men 
Might  have  been  wiser.  .  .  .  That  is  over,  then? 

[635] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Our  differences  henceforth  may  be  discussed 
In  friendly  talk  together; 

Herod 
So  I  trust. 

Pilate 
Give  me  your  hand;  I  have  long  hoped  for  this. 
I  need  your  help,  and  you,  perhaps,  need  mine. 
The  tribes  are  restless  on  the  border-line, 
The  whole  land  seethes:  the  news  from  Rome  is  bad. 
But  this  atones. 

Procula 
O,  fully. 

Herod 

I  am  glad. 

Pilate 
Herod 


Let  us  go  in. 

You  lead. 


Procula 
A  moment,  one.  .  .  . 
You  named  a  generous  act  that  he  had  done.  .  .  .  ? 

Herod 
This  morning,  yes;  you  sent  that  man  to  me 
Because  his  crime  was  laid  in  Galilee. 
A  little  thing,  but  still  it  touched  me  close; 
It  made  me  think  how  our  disputes  arose 
When  thieves  out  of  your  province  brought  to  me 
Were  punished  with  a  fine,  perhaps  set  free, 

[636] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Not  sent  to  you  to  judge,  as  you  sent  him. 
In  future  you  will  find  me  more  a  friend. 
Or  so  I  hope. 

Pilate 
Thanks.    May  the  gods  so  send 
That  this  may  lead  to  happier  days  for  us. 

Voices  of  the  Crowd 
[Who  are  now  flocking  in,  among  them  The  Madman.]     Herod 

the  good,  Herod  the  glorious. 
Long  life  to  Herod. 

Pilate 
Come,  the  crowd  begin.  .  .  . 

Voices 
Herod  for  ever. 

Pilate 
Let  us  go  within.  .  .  . 

Herod 
Yes.    By  the  by,  what  happened  to  the  man? 
I  sent  him  back  to  you;  a  rumor  ran 
That  he  was  crucified. 

Pilate 
He  was. 

Herod 

The  priests 
Rage  upon  points  of  doctrine  at  the  feasts. 

Voices 
God  bless  you,  Herod;  give  you  length  of  days,  Herod. 

[637] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

Herod 
[To  the  Crowd].    Go  home.    To  God  alone  give  praise. 
This  is  Deliverance  Night;  go  home,  for  soon 
Over  the  dusty  hill  will  come  the  moon, 
And  you  must  feast,  with  prayer  to  the  Adored. 
[To  Pilate.]    He  well  deserved  his  death. 


I'll  lead  the  way. 


Voices 

Pilate 

Voices 
Herod. 


God  bless  you,  Lord. 


Herod 
[To  Procula.]  Lady,  your  hand. 

Procula 
There  is  a  just  man's  blood  upon  the  sand. 
Mind  how  you  tread. 

[They  go  in.     The  bronze  doors  are  closed.     The  Crowd  remains 
for  an  instant  watching  the  doors.] 

A  Voice 
Herod  the  Fox  makes  friends  with  Pilate.    Why? 

A  Voice 
He  needs  a  Roman  loan. 

A  Voice 
Look  at  the  sky, 
The  Paschal  moon  has  risen. 

[638] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  Voice 

God  is  great. 
Why  did  I  linger  here?    I  shall  be  late.    [Going.] 

A  Voice 
Good  night  and  blessing. 

A  Voice 
[Going.]  Pilate's  color  changed 

When  we  cheered  Herod. 

A  Voice 

They  have  been  estranged 
A  long  while  now;  but  now  they  will  be  friends.    [Going.] 

A  Voice 
What  joy  it  is  when  Preparation  ends. 
Now  to  our  Feast.    Do  you  go  down  the  stair? 

A  Voice 
Yes,  past  the  pools;  will  you  come  with  me  there? 

A  Voice 
I  love  to  walk  by  moonlight;  let  us  go.    [They  go.] 

A  Voice 

[Singing.]    Friends,  out  of  Egypt,  long  ago, 
Our  wandering  fathers  came, 
Treading  the  paths  that  God  did  show 
By  pointing  cloud  and  flame. 
By  land  and  sea  His  darkness  and  His  light 
Led  us  into  His  peace.  .  .  .    [The  voice  dies  $f?#y.] 

[639] 


GOOD  FRIDAY 

A  Voice 
[Off.]  Good-night. 

[Only  The  Madman  remains.    He  takes  lilies  from  a  box  and 
begins  to  tie  them  in  bunches?^ 

Madman 
Only  a  penny,  a  penny, 
Lilies  brighter  than  any, 

Lilies  whiter  than  snow.    [He  feels  that  he  is  alone.] 
Beautiful  lilies  grow 
Wherever  the  truth  so  sweet 
Has  trodden  with  bloody  feet, 
Has  stood  with  a  bloody  brow. 
Friend,  it  is  over  now, 
The  passion,  the  sweat,  the  pains, 
Only  the  truth  remains.    [He  lays  lilies  down.] 
****** 

I  cannot  see  what  others  see; 
Wisdom  alone  is  kind  to  me, 
Wisdom  that  comes  from  Agony. 

****** 

Wisdom  that  lives  in  the  pure  skies, 
The  untouched  star,  the  spirit's  eyes; 
O  Beauty,  touch  me,  make  me  wise. 


Curtain 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 
[640] 


T 


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lipped  chantey  man  his  rugged  meters." — New  York  Sun. 


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Publishers     64-66  Fifth  Avenue     Hew  York 


THE  WORKS  OF  JOHN  MASBFIBLD 

A  Mainsail  Haul 

Cloth,  i2mo,  $1.25.     Leather,  $1.75 
As  a  sailor  before  the  mast  Masefield  has  traveled  the 
world  over.    Many  of  the  tales  in  this  volume  are  his  own 
experiences   written  with  the  same  dramatic  fidelity  dis- 
played in  "Dauber." 

Multitude  and  Solitude 

"  This  is  material  of  the  best  kind  for  a  story  of  adventure,  and 
Mr.  Masefield  uses  it  to  the  best  advantage.  He  has  the  gift  of 
direct  and  simple  narrative,  and  it  need  hardly  be  said  that  he 
knows  the  human  heart." —  Argonaut. 


Captain  Margaret 

Cloth,  $1.50 

"  Worthy  to  rank  high  among  books  of  its  class.     The  story  has 
quality,  charm,  and  spirited  narrative." —  Outlook. 


Lost  Endeavour 

$1.50 

A  stirring  story  of  adventure,  dealing  with  pirates  and 
buccaneers,  and  life  on  the  seas  in  a  day  when  an  ocean 
trip  was  beset  with  all  kinds  of  dangers  and  excitements. 
Those  who  have  enjoyed  "Captain  Margaret"  and  "Mul- 
titude and  Solitude  "  will  find  this  tale  equally  exhilarating. 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers     64-66  Fifth  Avenue     Hew  York 


THE  WORKS  OF  JOHN  MASE FIELD 

The  Tragedy  of  Pompey 

Cloth,  l2mo.  $1.25.     Leather,  $1.75 

A  play  such  as  only  the  author  of  "Nan"  could  have 
written.  Tense  in  situation  and  impressive  in  its  poetry  it 
conveys  Masefield's  genius  in  the  handling  of  the  dramatic 
form. 

The  Faithful:  A  Tragedy  in  Three  Acts 

Cloth,  $1.25.     Leather,  $1.75 

"  A  striking  drama  ...  a  notable  work  that  will  meet  with  the 
hearty  appreciation  of  discerning  readers." —  The  Nation. 

The  Tragedy  of  Nan 

New  edition.     Cloth,  $1.25.     Leather,  $1.75 

"  One  of  the  most  distinctive  tragedies  written  by  a  dramatist  of 
the  modern  school." — N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 


The  Locked  Chest,  and  the  Sweeps  of 
Ninety-Eight 

$1-25 

The  place  of  Mr.  Masefield  as  a  dramatist  has  been 
amply  proved  by  the  plays  which  he  has  published  hitherto. 
In  the  realm  of  the  one-act  play  he  is  seen  to  quite  as  good 
effect  as  in  the  longer  work,  and  this  volume  ranks  with 
his  best. 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers     64-66  Fifth  Avenue     New  York 


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